As we trudge into winter, Braves fans everywhere, but most particularly here in Stuffville, are hoping that the hot stove will heat up during MLB’s winter meetings in California this week. The Braves spent $25 million dollars on two players, 3rd baseman Josh Donaldson and catcher Brian McCann, but really only added to their bench with the signings. That is, it allows the Braves to move erstwhile 3rd baseman Johan Camargo to serve as a super sub, the role most in the Braves front office envisioned for the young Panamanian to begin with.

Donaldson inked a one year deal with the Braves which allows the Braves to further evaluate their now number one prospect, Austin Riley, as their future 3rd baseman. Riley who is only 21 years old has shown the propensity for big power and has steadily improved his defense since his being drafted 41st over all in 2015 by the Braves. There is no way to know if Riley will indeed ever play in the majors as a Brave or if he will be included as part of a package for a number one starter or possibly for Marlins catcher J T Realmuto.

So, with that in mind, we should bear in mind the Braves primary needs going into the off season were: A) A front line ace to lead the young Braves pitching staff; B) An outfielder to replace free agent Nick Markakis; C) Bullpen help (either a closer or set up man); and D) Bench help/ power bat to protect Freddie Freeman in the line up.

So far, the Braves have made several moves around the periphery with McCann, who while it is a feel good story in his return to Atlanta, is questionable as to how much he can add to the Braves line up as a catcher who can catch a fair number of games in tandem with Tyler Flowers.

The Nationals made a major acquisition in signing free agent pitcher Patrick Corbin who will be slotted as the number three starter in their solid starting pitching staff and the Mets made a major trade to acquire shut down closer Edwin Diaz and aging 2nd baseman Robinson Cano from the Seattle Mariners. There should be no question that both moves have made the NL East a much stronger division. To be sure, the path to winning the divisional pennant will be a tough one foe every team.

So, as we wait and watch for the Braves to make the moves necessary to shore up the team and plot a course to repeat as NL east champions, we all should remember the games still have to be played and while it is nice to compare stats, we can point to the Nationals epic fail in 2018 despite having the best team on paper by far.

If 36 year old JA Happ can get e new 2 year deal (with a 3rd year option) for about $16M per year, and 35 year old Charlie Morton can get 2 years at $15M per year, Julio on a short 1 year commitment at just $11M is a bargain.

Want a comparable? Tanner Roark just got dealt to the Reds for a prospect because the Nats wanted to free up the projected $9.8M he’s expected to get in arb. The Reds happily took that on. Roark is not nearly the pitcher Julio is.

Yeah, it’s weird looking at Julio T’s stats….most teams would love a soon to be 28 Year old with a career 3.64 ERA. and we all can’t wait to get rid of him

I think for the Braves it’s more a function of his splits at STP.

In 2017, STP’s first year, his home ERA in 17 games (93.2 IP) was 5.86, as opposed to 3.14 on the road in 15 games (94.2 IP). Last year it was much more evenly split, but the seeds had already been planted.

Also, I don’t think they are necessarily actively trying to shove him out the door. But if they can acquire a more accomplished pitcher for the top of the rotation, then with the bevy of young pitching that is major league ready, it only makes sense to trade away Julio and his $11M commitment when he has some trade value. It is exactly the same reasoning that led WAS to trade Tanner Roarke to the Reds.

And I do think he can be traded for a mid-level prospect with the entirety f his contract going with him.

Seriously… just $11M for 1 year for a guy that whose IP total last year of 175.2 was the least he’s given since he’s been a full time starter (2013).

And maybe I need to also clarify my position on him. I only want to see him traded under the conditions I mentioned above… only if we can acquire a more accomplished “horse” to lead the young rotation. Otherwise, I’m perfectly fine with him pitching out his deal here.

Now, on the same topic of pitching, I heard a very fascinating interview with Leo Mazzone this morning on the radio. And I thin we can all agree that he knows a thing or two about pitching.

His favorite guy on the pitching market this year? Dallas Keuchel. Leo says Keuchel knows how to “pitch”, and he’s not trying to overpower any hitters. That’s why he can still be successful for another 3 years. Leo says he knows how to generate weak contact and keep the ball in the park. And if you look at DK’s pitching stats, Leo’s assertion is validated.

Leo went on to say that MLB has inflated the velocity they show on pitchers as a marketing tool. He asserts that the radar guns are calibrated high to inflate the MPH in what is the pitcher’s equivalent to the tightly would ball. Yes, chicks still dig the long ball, but 100 mph impresses us almost as much.

He continued saying that the byproduct of radar gun inflation is that young pitchers now concentrate too much on generating “velo” and not enough time learning how to “pitch”. Leo, who these days goes around and lectures on the dangers of overtaxing young arms, then gave a very jarring stat that I’ve never heard before.

52% of all TJ surgeries are performed on kids under the age of 19. Y’all, that’s jaw dropping.

OK… I got a little off track. I say all that to say this: Perhaps we were too quick to judge Dallas Keuchel based on factors that are less important than simply taking the mound (34 starts, 204.2 IP last season) and getting batters out. If Leo Mazzone thinks he would be a great addition to the Braves staff, who am I to argue?

Your point is well taken guys. While I have been as frustrated as the next Braves fan with Julio’s Jeckel and Hyde act, he has been the guy in the #1 position for a long time and if used as a number 3 or 4 guy and as the grizzled vet I think his numbers would vastly improve.

There is a lot of pressure in having to be perfect every pitch. I think that is why so many good pitchers wilt in New York.

For sure, Julio is no Jacob DeGrome but he should not have to be. I think he is the perfect example of a pitcher who was called upon to throw a lot of innings before his arm fully matured and without the benefit of PEDs lost velocity on his fastball and bite on his slider as a result. He also became the victim of a very tight strike zone in several of the contest I saw him pitch in last year.

What perhaps was most apparent was his lack of a true out pitch. He could get to two strikes but could not seem to put guys away.

Perhaps with a pitching coach who could encourage him to pitch to weak contact instead of trying to strike out everybody he could experience a renaissance.

There always seems to be a player or two on every team who become the whipping boy. Fans called for Markakis to be traded for 3 1/2 years. Now it is Julio and our current Gold Glove center fielder. Okay, I’ll admit it, Ender is no Andrew Jones but to me it would be like trading Andrelton Simmons… Oh, wait…

An aside Leo gave in that interview was an insider’s peek into how GMs conduct themselves.

He said that John Schuerholz would go into a meeting room and basically say, “This is who’s available, and this is who we like. If we’re close, then let’s talk. If not, then let’s not waste our time.”

He went on to say that he was also with a GM, and he wouldn’t name the team but it wasn’t the Braves thus it was the Orioles, where the GM would sit down and say, “Who do you like?” and would then sit around for hours trying to piece something together on the other GM’s terms.

Anthopolous thankfully falls into the camp of the former.

In fact, did y’all know AntMan actually flew out early yesterday morning to attend a meeting with Liberty Media in Denver? Apparently he made all the contacts and had all the conversations he intended to have on Monday and Tuesday, leaving Asst. GM Perry Minasian to finish out the grunt work. He said that in the current day of communication technology, there was nothing he couldn’t do in Denver that he could do in Las Vegas.

As for today’s Rule 5 draft, the Braves pick #20 and do not anticipate any player falling that far that might stick on the active roster for the whole season. Minasian will attend, but does not expect to do anything.

I understand how badly folks want to see Acuna Jr. play center but he is still really, really young and as such, is still very prone to attempting plays he cannot make. That leads to mistakes that puts a lot of pressure on young pitchers. Having base runners on 2nd & 3rd is infinitely more problematic than having runners on 1st & 3rd and that is often what happens when throwing to the wrong base.

To be sure, while the Braves have improved their line up with the addition of Josh Donaldson, they still have some holes to fill. One pitcher and one outfielder. I don’t think you can do that in today’s game for $25MM which is what AA is trying to sell as the Braves market cap. The only way you can do that is promote from within.

On AA going to Denver to meet with the Liberty Media honchos: I hope he went to make the case that adding another $25MM over their current payroll caps is what it will take to stay competitive in the NL East.

I mean gee, it does not take a rocket surgeon to figure out how much more valuable the franchise would be to capture a World Series or two.

Sources indicate Braves appear willing to part with top prospect Austin Riley for Realmuto but I do not believe that trade would also include the previous names I mentioned (Soroka/Newcomb). Marlins have held firm on multiple players for J.T.

Okay… I’m gonna rephrase that report: #Yankees and #Braves are talking Sonny Gray. NYY prefers the Braves’ prospects to other teams’ prospects, but Atlanta still interested in Realmuto and aren’t keen on really giving up any prospects of worth for Sonny Gray.

It is just my opinion but I am of the mind that the Braves feel they have the prospect capital for one big trade. That will be either Realmuto or one of the pair being offered up by Cleveland. Adding Realmuto means they do not have to have the big bat in the outfield and can concentrate a bit more on defense. Adding a pitcher delays for another year one of the studs on the farm.

The only power bat close to major league ready the Braves currently appear to have in their system is Riley. There are a few really good hitters in the system but they are still in the lower minors.

I can see them taking Gray if, and only if, they put their more coveted assets into a premier bat, either JTR or an OF. And at that point I’d expect the bat to come first.

Bottom line is that the 2 needs are directly attached to each other. They have a certain amount to spend both in dollars and in prospects. I am of the opinion that they will not evenly split that, but they will make a splash on one front, leaving the other to a fallback option such i.e. Sonny Gray or Nick Markakis.

I heard on a radio broadcast yesterday by some local media in Vegas that the Braves are not high on Trevor Bauer for the same reasons they are out on Zack Greinke. Apparently Bauer is an odd character that Braves execs don’t believe would fit well in the clubhouse.

I hate using anecdotal evidence to make a point but Vee, you are right with the “clubhouse” mix. As a long time Oriole fan, I still remember the time when Reggie Jackson played in Baltimore. One of the first “million dollar” payrolls. It was a terrible fit and the O’s suffered for it. Further proof that you cannot always fix a problem with money.

while I think Dallas would be fine here, I just wonder if he would be thought of as an ace

I don’t think DK has ever been thought of as an “ace”. A “horse” maybe, but not an “ace”. I think it’s well established that there are only a small handful – 10 maybe? – of true aces scattered around, and of those only Zack Greinke and Corey Kluber are possibly available this offseason. We know Greinke is out, and suspect Kluber would require a Realmutian return. I suspect all things being equal, AntMan would rather acquire JTR over Kluber.

So given no available ace, I’ll take a horse to lead the rest of this young rotation through the season.

While I’m not calling DK a HOF’er, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine would be considered “soft tossers” in 2018. DK still throws a 90 mph 4-seamer. 10 years ago that would be smoke… today it’s soft.

Here is the Brooks Baseball pitcher card on DK:

Dallas Keuchel has thrown 19,376 pitches that have been tracked by the PITCHf/x system between 2011 and 2018, including pitches thrown in the MLB Regular Season, the MLB Postseason and Fall/Winter Ball. In 2018, he has relied primarily on his Sinker (90mph), also mixing in a Slider (79mph), Cutter (87mph), Change (80mph) and Fourseam Fastball (90mph).

Basic description of 2018 pitches compared to other LHP:His sinker is a real worm killer that generates an extreme number of groundballs compared to other pitchers’ sinkers, has surprisingly little armside run and has some natural sinking action. His slider sweeps across the zone, has exceptional depth and has below average velo. His cutter has extreme cut action and has some natural sink. His change has slightly below average velo and has some natural sink to it. His fourseam fastball is straight as an arrow, generates a very high amount of groundballs compared to other pitchers’ fourseamers, has some natural sinking action and has essentially average velo.

Heard a report this morning that the Braves execs have remained in contact with both the Dodgers and Rangers. Reportedly those are the two teams that AA spent the most time talking to. Obviously the topic would be OFers with both teams. The speculation is that Thoppy has been asking LAD about Joc Pederson primarily over Yasiel Puig.

Reading between the lines, LAD would like to bring back a prime prospect from ATL to help them land Corey Kluber from CLE.

— The Braves have been in touch with the Marlins about J.T. Realmuto, and new word that Tyler Flowers could be had in trade lends credence to the idea that the Braves could wind up with Realmuto. One rival suggests he could see the Braves as a favorite. “They have the prospects,” that rival pointed out …

— The report that the Braves were floating pitcher Mike Soroka and third baseman Austin Riley was called “utter BS.” Though it’s possible they are offering Riley and others …

— Soroka looked like a coming star when he was called up as an underaged pitcher last year, and after suffering arm trouble, he is said to be doing well …

— The Braves were one of the teams in on Sonny Gray …

— The Braves have interest in A.J. Pollock, but they might want to find a taker for Ender Inciarte if they do that. Meantime, one Braves person says Inciarte, Foltynewicz and Swanson are “staying put.”

My take… I get a sense that JTR is the main focus of Thoppy, but that he simply wont give up the farm to make it happen. And neither will any other team. At this point, I believe the teams that are seriously still in are simply waiting for MIA to blink and come back to reality, at which point the Braves will still have the best offer. And I tend to agree with Tomahawk Take’s Alan Carpenter, who says:

I will nonetheless continue to maintain that J.T. Realmuto is the #1 trade target – period. All paths lead from this effort – whether successful or not… and indeed, the Braves could themselves be holding up a lot of transactions that other teams have planned because of this.

This is the linchpin deal. And once the prospect capital is spent on JTR, the dollar capital can be redirected toward pitching and OF.

I don’t think the Braves are serious about Pollock, and are only mildly interested in Gray. And I think Ender is staying put.

Weird to see a rich, WS winning team be so willing to let their best bullpen arms leave (I.E. Joe Kelly to the Dodgers, and likely Kimbrel) because of money….guess the Yankees will win the AL East in 2019

Giving that much money to late inning arms that put max effort into every pitch multiple times a week is not good business. If someone gives Kimbrel the 6-year deal he’s asking for, they’re crazy… regardless of how dominant he has been or might be 2019. It can literally all come crashing down on one pitch.

Long term deals themselves can strangle a team, and especially those given to volatile talent. A very similar example occurred when the Braves signed the great Bruce Sutter, who promptly blew out his arm and couldn’t even finish out the deal, much less dominate.

Another more recent example: Jose Ramirez. This guy was a real up-and-comer, throwing serious heat and at times untouchable for the Braves. Then all of a sudden, it all fell apart on a “shoulder strain”, and he may never pitch in the ML again.

— If the Braves fail to land Realmuto, they will likely make an immediate pivot toward Cleveland to try and get [Corey] Kluber… using similar prospects.

— If they do get Realmuto, then they may choose to make an offer to [Dallas] Keuchel.

— If Kluber proves unattainable and Keuchel proves too costly, then perhaps engaging with the Yankees on Gray could still be done.

— The team would need to spin [Julio Teheran] off to help offset these other contracts… and to create a hole in the rotation for the new guy.

IMO, that is a very accurate picture of the priority list.

And I think the underlying point in here is that the Braves will not expect to get 162 games from McFlowers. If the JTR pursuit fails, AntMan will also have to address that. But as I’ve now come to believe, he’s going to make this deal happen. I’m truly beginning to believe that unless some team – the Mets – blinks first and gives up the moon and stars.

I am inclined to believe that Austin Riley is the main target for Miami. he checks a lot of boxes for them and next season the Braves will be scratching their heads trying to figure out who to plug into 3rd base. Just saying…

I can realistically foresee the Braves playing Realmuto 5 times a week and playing BMac once. It worked for the Braves during the Javy Lopez era.

I cannot blame Kimbrel for attempting to secure his grand kids future. He should be very careful to not sign with the Dodgers for money alone as they will eat him alive with taxes. With that much money at stake, you better have a darn good CPA who is both trustworthy and bonded. The IRS doesn’t care if your accountant stole all your money, you are still on the hook for the taxes.

Still not quite sure why JT is so darned hot….he’s a good hitter, who doesn’t drive in many runs(Didn’t when they had an all star outfield either) who rarely walks, and a very good catcher. Holds the running game of teams down…but, who runs anymore? Is it just because there isn’t a real prospect in the future here?

I’ll save you a little reading and post the last 2 paragraphs, which summarize it well:

It does not take much digging to get a load of checkmarks on his leadership and smarts. He was, for example, not part of the Marlins’ pre-series/game scouting meetings. He ran those meetings.

Put it all together: Huge surplus value, positional scarcity, prime age, two-way effectiveness, high-end athleticism, strong intangibles, and this is why the Mets and many others are working diligently to try to land Realmuto — and why Miami is trying to maximize this trade piece.

Not to mention, more guys on base ahead of you normally translates to higher RBI opportunities and thus more RBIs. I think the point being is Realmuto is the best catcher available and would likely flourish even more in a different environment.

He’s the best catcher in….a really weak catchers market. Bet Kurt and Tyler beat him, offensively speaking….they did, at least in most numbers…
JT’s numbers seemed to have improved last year, which seems odd….when you have Yelich, Stanton and…crap the other all stars…should have been an RBI machine…oh well

So here is why I question batting a player 2nd verse 4th, unless you are planning on being in a lot of one hit games, the net difference in plate appearances is pretty low. I am a much bigger fan of 3 run homers than I am of solo blast… Just saying…

Cleveland made a trade yesterday which cleared some salary for 2019 so if I were Braves fans, I would scratch Kluber and Bauer off their wish list. They have no need to trade them now and would be unwise to do so.

To be perfectly honest, as much as I would like to have Realmuto wearing a Braves uniform, if he goes somewhere else I will not be crushed. I’m pretty much over him. After all, he played for Miami last season and they did not exactly set the world on fire.

Okay, that was a cheap shot. Yes, I would like the Braves to add him to their line up but we have been talking about him for two seasons now and if Miami thinks the Braves have to have him at the expense of the future, well, I’d pass. ( Texieria anyone)?

The young arms the Braves currently have are only going to get better as they gain experience and if one or two get hurt (arm or shoulder trouble) at least they have a lot of depth at the position. Who knows if the ones who pull up lame aren’t the ones they were counting on after they traded other prospects away.

Like I have said before, as much as I would love to have a Mercedes, I like eating regularly better so we all have to make choices and if Riley is so good that Miami wants him then in 2020 he will be just what the doctor ordered for the Braves to man the hot corner. To me he appears to be a more athletic version of Ryan Klesko.

Great teams are not built on offense alone unless you are talking about fantasy teams. It is why Bobby Cox would play Andrew Jones everyday in center field even when mired in horrible hitting slumps. Also why Heyward is considered a premium ballplayer even if hit bat lets him down on occasion. It is also why I could live with the Braves bring back Markakis for a couple of more years as long as he is not penciled in to bat in the clean up spot.

The Antman got his power bat in Josh Donaldson. Bring in a solid veteran pitcher and call it a day. The Braves are still building, they are a year ahead of their projected timetable so I can deal with it. The rest of the division is going to be better so it should be a dog fight until the end.

PS, I still think the best guy taken off the Marlins roster last season was Christian Yelich and he was had for a lot less than a lot of the other guys and why Jeter only has one chip left to play so he knows it has to count.

And upon further review, I don’t know of any players out their right now who would command a mother lode of prospects other than Realmuto and either of the two pitchers currently under contract with Cleveland. With Yonder Alonso being traded to the White Sox, their payroll seems perfectly capable of retaining the services of Kluber and Bauer so move along folks, nothing to see here.

I now feel fairly certain they will talk with the Yankees about taking Sonny Gray off their hands for some not so highly ranked prospects. While they would still be decent prospects, they won’t be in the Braves top 15 and most likely still at the A level so roster space will not have to be cleared.

I am also of the mind that if the Braves can move Julio they will do it but they might also want to see if their new pitching coach can resurrect Tehran’s fortunes. If Julio does not have to face Bryce Harper 60 at-bats a year, his ERA could well drop a full run for the season. Harper has owned Julio and both players know it….

OK… so we are out of the JTR derby. It was becoming a circus anyway. Actually, it had already become a circus. Miami had one big card to play, and it was a good one. Still, they managed to completely screw it up.

Well… ok.

So I have 2 comments and I’ll move on from the sideshow.

First, I still don’t believe the Braves are completely out of it. I won’t until we either address the catching situation further (I cannot believe that AntMan will go into 2019 with uncertainty behind the plate, and looking at the current tandem completely objectively, we don’t have 162 games worth of catching), or spend the prospect capital on a pitcher. And once the incompetent Marlins re-adjust their demands – which they will have to do at some point as they cannot go into the season with JTR now – the Braves will probably be back in the conversation again.

Second, and related to the first point, the Mets did address their situation with finality. Thus, they are 100% out of the JTR extravaganza. And that severely damages what MIA was foolishly trying to accomplish. Now that the Fish no longer have the Braves and Mets around to wishfully bid against each other, they are left with Cincinnati and San Diego? Maybe Tampa? If this was football, it would be an egregious fumble.

Yep, I am of the opinion the Braves still have an offer on the table and until they make a move to shore up their erstwhile catching tandum, they are still in the game or until those same prospects are used on pitching or an outfielder. At this point, Austin Riley (the best position player the Braves have in their top ten) is not really blocked but every long term player added makes it harder for him too find playing time barring an injury.

Consider the odds, between the 30 major league teams, there are 750 players on the everyday roster. Roughly half of those are pitchers and half of those are starting pitchers. That’s about 190 starting pitchers, of those only about 10 are considered true aces. Is there any wonder why teams are loath to trade really promising arms? It is like buy lottery tickets and then trading them away for half price. While traded arms seldom become Aces, every so often one turns out to be an Adam Wainwright , John Smoltz or Noah Syndegard. It takes a brave GM to pull the trigger to keep the bird in the hand for the two in the bush.

Gil, this Craig Mish fellow in Miami continues to stand by his conviction that the Braves are still leading the derby, especially now that the Mets are officially out. In my very humble opinion, the last exchange between Thoppy and MIA probably went something like this:

MIA: Hi, Alex. Ready to cave and give us Riley?

Thop: My offer of Newcomb, Flowers and Gohara is still on the table. You can’t have Riley. Period. I’m heading out to Denver. If you change your mind, you have my number. If you get a better offer, you should take it.

And that’s where it stands.

Thus, Bowman and Mish are likely both right… Thoppy hasn’t talked to MIA in several days, yet they are still the favorite to land him.

One more comment and I will give it a rest, Jeter should take a look around and realize the difference in keeping too tight a hold on Realmuto verses the lose in value in hanging onto him past his real value. Ask the Orioles how much more they could have got for Machado if they had traded him two years ago vs a deadline trade last season.

I don’t blame the Marlins for trying to get the most they can for their last remaining trade piece but I cannot blame others for not wanting to overpay.

First, I still don’t believe the Braves are completely out of it.
V, I bet you are right, but tell the media that, and Miami sweats a bit…

Thop: My offer of Newcomb, Flowers and Gohara is still on the table.
Miami would be foolish to turn down that deal…of course, they are pretty foolish, aren’t they. 2 young ,cheap, hard throwing lefties that have the potential to win 15 games a year, for years to come, and be thorns in the side of the braves for many a year.
I wonder if they would want 2 established guys though, say Newcomb and Camargo?

Michael Brantley was supposedly the top target (according to many) to replace Nick in RF. Cutch was supposedly the fallback. Again though, that was according to observers… not Thoppy himself. And now both are off the table. So what now?

The AntMan prides himself on being keeping his dealings completely under wraps. And it would appear that his office is doing a stellar job at remaining the stealthiest in baseball. The only hints we’ve gotten at all this winter have come from other teams leaking info… likely in hopes of gaining some leverage through the press, i.e. JTR situation.

I suppose we can suppose all we want. We aren’t going to know whats happening until it’s happening.

I believe that if Thoppy were of a mind to wait it out and bring Nick back, he’d just go ahead and bring Nick back. I honestly believe Nick is the last fallback option.

IMO, Brantley was the guy they favored in FA and likely at about the price point that he agreed to with HOU. But I really believe that Thop prefers the trade route over FA… especially now that they appear – here I go supposing again – to have moved away from JTR and now that Kluber is pretty much off the market. He;s gonna spend the prospect capital now. ANd it only makes sense to spend it now, while it’s pretty much at its peak value.

I believe he’s working on acquiring an OF in trade.

The obvious candidates come from LAD, SDP and TEX.

The Dodgers obviously would prefer to trade Yasiel Puig over Joc Pederson, but Thoppy has all the inside connections there and is probably working them all to get an inside track on Pederson. But even if he can’t get them to budge on Joc, is Puig a bad candidate? After all, he’s a super athletic guy that at times can be the most dangerous hitter in the game. He’s a good baserunner and a superior defender. The only downside is that he does being a little bit of ‘tude, but not necessarily bad ‘tude. Flair, as they say. He profiles into the cleanup spot perfectly. And he’s only under contract for 1 more year at a very reasonable $11M. LAD isn’t exactly trying to “dump” Puig, but they do have an excess of OF and would like to move one… preferably Puig. So the prospect cost would probably not be very high.

We’ve also mentioned the Rangers and their pair of slugging OF’s Nomar Mazara and Joey Gallo. TEX is desperate for pitching and seems another obvious trade partner. This week another name has emerged in Jurickson Profar, a former top prospect himself who hasn’t found a position in Arlington. Profar came up as a 2B and has played all over the IF, and does have about 210 ML innings in LF. He’d certainly be a better fielder than Mazara. He reminds me a little of Johan Camargo with more power. I think the way versatility is being favored these days he’d be a desirable pickup. Last year the SH Profar slashed .254/.335/.458 with 20 HRs and 10 steals. I’ll take any one of the three. Profar is probably the most complete player, but Gallo or Mazara would give you a ton of power.

And let’s not forget San Diego. They also are desperate for pitching and have a surplus of corner OF’s. There’s 21-year-old Franmil Reyes, the typical slugger: major power and alot of swing-and-miss. And he’s under team control until 2025. He’d require a haul in prospects, though. Then there’s Wil Myers, who is also big power, big strikeouts. The former 3B is not the smoothest fielder, but is passable. He’s also under contract for $22.5M per year from 2020-2022, but only $5.5M in 2019, so he’d easily fit the payroll with JD’s 1-year commitment. He’d cost the least in prospect for obvious reasons. Hunter Renfroe’s name has come up alot, but it would seem that the Pads are loathe to let him go unless blown away by an offer.

I say all this to simply state that I think this is the direction Thoppy is going. I think Nick’s time here is done or he’d already be wrapped up and under the tree. And I think the fact that Thop wasn’t in at all on Brantley at 2 years/$32M is an indication that a trade is coming. And if I were pinned down to make a guess, I’d say we might want to warm up to a certain animated Cuban.

if you think RAJ and Ozzie Albies are a bit the top now, adding Puig would turn the Braves bench into a zoo

I personally don’t think RAJ or Ozzie are over the top. I actually enjoy their youthful zeal with alot, yes ALOT of envy. And I do believe that Puig has toned it down some since his rookie year that was truly over the top. If the Braves don’t think Puig would make for a good clubhouse fit, they won’t consider him. They’ve already proven that with their stated stances on Greinke and Bauer. That aside, Puig’s talent is certainly not questionable. I think he’d be a great fit in the lineup and on the field. And there’s a little part of me that would love to see him and Mac on the same team. 😀

Vee, I fully understand the Braves position to not spend money foolishly but we were not the ones who said the Braves would not let money stand in the way of signing some of the more high profile players entering into free agency.

With their alluding to being able to spend money to improve the team and bring in high profile talent they gave the impression that even Bryce Harper was not off the table but so far all we have heard is poor mouthing. That is the frustrating part.

The Braves are going to do what they are going to do but if you always present yourself as a poor relation, few in the family willing open their doors to you. If you are going to be a winner, act like a winner…

It brings to mind this old story about Florenz Ziegfeld of Ziegfeld’s Follies. When he directed his wardrobe person to make sure the girls all had silk underwear. When he was asked why, no one would ever see them or know they were silk his reply was, “the girls will know”… My point is sometimes you have to go that extra mile and do the little things as well as the big so the “fans will know”….

I’m not sure that I’ve heard them say that they “can’t” afford anyone, rather that they intend to spend wisely. In fact, Derek Schiller went on record saying that Liberty Media can spend whatever amount they deem appropriate without limit. (Of course, that’s entirely up to them to decide.)

Spending wisely means you don’t give BJ Upton a 5 yr/$72.5M deal when his numbers are trending downward. As I recall, I was quite excited over that signing… because we did something big. I’ll admit that today. But it was obviously a dumb move. Giving Nathan Eovaldi 4 yrs/$62.5M is exciting, but dumb given that he has already had 2 TJ surgeries. And as much as I like Craig Kimbrel, if somebody gives him the 6 year 6 figure deal he’s seeking, it’ll be a dumb move.

So as we’ve all cautioned many times, the off season is not even half over. Thus far, only 16 of MLBTR’s Top 50 FA’s have signed or agreed to deals. There is still alot of time to get something done in both FA and trades. If we get into January and haven’t addressed any additional needs, then I’ll get antsy (no pun intended). But until then, I’m sitting patiently… well, scouring the media constantly, but patiently doing so.

SiriusXM’s sports guy and Marlins insider Craig Mish has been conspicuously quiet regarding Realmuto in the last couple of days since the Braves were “counted out” of the derby in the press. He does still have the following tweet pinned to the top of his Twitter feed, though. It hasn’t changed since the Mets acquired Wilson Ramos.

My guess is he is still waiting for someone to change his mind, after all, other than having BMac return for 2019, does anyone realistically believe he and Flow will stay health enough to catch 162 games plus in 2019?

BMac is a bench piece/part time pitching coach/clubhouse guru whom the Braves are only paying $2MM a year who can also catch on occasion.

While BMac is officially a catcher, he is more likely a left handed power bat who can catch enough to justify his signing especially at only the bargain price of $2MM. Think about it, he is being paid a lot less than Big City is in Washington and Adams would not played that much at first base with Freddie Freeman holding down the position.

other than having BMac return for 2019, does anyone realistically believe he and Flow will stay health enough to catch 162 games plus in 2019?

I don’t.

BMac is a bench piece/part time pitching coach/clubhouse guru whom the Braves are only paying $2MM a year who can also catch on occasion.

I believe that to be exactly right. I think they gave Flow his extension with the thought he’d be a more conventional backup. And I think the saw an opportunity to reunite with Mac and jumped on it, rendering Flow a bit redundant. But they can’t state that publicly. I think they really want a true starting catcher that will given them 120 or so games behind the dish. Will they get one? Uh… not so sure about that.

I’d take Puig long before someone like Manny B.E. He’s a hot dog…and gets a bit too close to some guy’s faces (he has kissed A LOT of Dodgers 😉 ) but he doesn’t play dirty.
but…but….have you noticed he for some reason hasn’t been able to hit lefties the last 2 seasons? How odd is that? Did the dodgers get into his head by not playing him against lefties, so he tried too hard against them?

And for the catchers….I do think to guys in their mid 30s can catch 70-80 games each. Tech is forever getting better surgery wise, they both should be in awesome shape (well, TFlow is at least) they don’t have to play on astroturf in Philly, St. Louis, etc, etc…IF you could have a 3rd catcher on the roster (How come the unions don’t push for a 26th man roster?) man what a difference that would make, huh?

And ATL wouldn’t have gotten him for $16M. That’s what Houston paid, and they have no state income tax in Texas and have the DH for days to refresh now and then in league he’s familiar with. ATL likely would’ve had to pay closer to $20M per. For guy who missed much of 2017-2018 https://t.co/9eu8vUfxZp

— The Braves have the financial means to match the average annual value given to McCutchen ($16.7 million) and Brantley ($16 million). But in relation to these two outfielders, there was a sense the Braves could gain better value by addressing each of their remaining needs: a front-line starter, bullpen depth and, of course, an outfielder.

— Although the Braves have not publicly indicated their projected 2019 payroll, they have said it will increase to the point they will no longer be in MLB’s bottom third. Even after signing Josh Donaldson ($23 million) and Brian McCann ($2 million) to one-year deals, it’s believed they still have at least $30 million left to spend. Braves chairman Terry McGuirk recently responded to Donaldson’s signing by saying the team has the financial means to make another similar short-term investment.

— Anthopoulos [could] allocate up to $10 million of his remaining funds toward moves that could be made to upgrade the roster during the 2019 season.

Okay, enough of this, the Braves are going to do what the Braves are going to do. I am confident they will have three outfielders playing. I just would like for it to be 3 really really good outfielders. What I don’t want to hear is “they were asking too much money” … Folks, I think we have gotten a pretty good idea of the market price by now. While Thoppy does not have to shop at Nordstrums, I don’t think the Braves have to be confined to the flea markets either.

Yes, Nick gets no respect from most Braves fans, Ender is hoping Nick returns so he won’t be the one named as the player most likely to be traded.

So, the real answer lies in the evaluations done on every player which reveals two very important things: 1) bat speed 2) eye sight To me, if the trend is downward on either of those two things then you take a pass because both are critical for success by a major league hitter. Think Jason Werth in his final season with the Nats….

I am interested in seeing what kind of shape Adam Duval shows up in the spring and if the Braves hitting coaches can get him turned around. I know that is the type of impact signing we are hoping for but their are lots of reasons for a huge drop off in production by a player like Duval. The Braves did not exactly drop him when they had the chance so there must be something the boys in the Stats department saw.

And I am over the Braves missing out on Michael Brantley. We don’t know that the Braves didn’t make a serious run at him. Brantley might have just felt more comfortable staying in the AL and the Astros aren’t exactly chopped liver. So there is that.

Here is my take on the state of the Braves line up. If the Braves are able to get Realmuto, they can go for a more defensive minded outfielder. Certainly the need for a Bryce Harper is greatly diminished. You need big bats in your line up but you don’t need all big bats in your line up. There is always room for a light hitting middle infielder if that is your need.

— Although the Braves have not publicly indicated their projected 2019 payroll, they have said it will increase to the point they will no longer be in MLB’s bottom third. Even after signing Josh Donaldson ($23 million) and Brian McCann ($2 million) to one-year deals, it’s believed they still have at least $30 million left to spend. Braves chairman Terry McGuirk recently responded to Donaldson’s signing by saying the team has the financial means to make another similar short-term investment.

— Anthopoulos [could] allocate up to $10 million of his remaining funds toward moves that could be made to upgrade the roster during the 2019 season

I guess I’m just tired this AM….one part of this article says it’s believedf they have at least 30 mil to spend. then that Thoppy could allocate up to 10 Mil of his remaining funds to upgrade the roster during the season. Huh? They could spend 20 mil now, then 10 mil during the season? much confuzzlement…

of course if this money isn’t available are they going to say, this moola isn’t available? or just say, couldn’t find the right player , it wasn’t a money issue?

If the Braves are able to get Realmuto, they can go for a more defensive minded outfielder.

If by some Christmas miracle they are able to acquire JTR, then we’ll probably see Nick back in RF for another year… with an option. And TBH, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. My gut says no JTR, though. I’m still feeling an OF trade.

Last observations on Michael Brantley… While JD suffered a serious injury and missed significant time last season, Brantley has missed significant time in each of the last 3 seasons. In my mind, that’s very different. Recurring leg injuries always seem to, ya know… recur? Also, on a tweet welcoming him to the Astros, a new teammate hashtagged him “Professional Hitter”. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Maybe a professional hitter in the clubhouse is truly worth 2 in the opposing dugout. I dunno… I’m just spitballin’…

Congrats to former MVP Terry Pendleton, who’ll be inducted w/ Hugh Duffy in the #Braves Hall of Fame at the Jan. 18 Chop Fest Gala. Duffy played for the Boston Beaneaters 1892-1900; won 2 batting titles & in 1894 hit .440 w/ an NL-high 18 HR. Pendleton is a Braves special asst.

Good for TP, he was truly one of the most important acquisitions made by the Braves which led to the change in fortunes in the ’90s . Duffy on the other hand preceded my Braves fandom by a few decades. 🙂

Interesting that the Tribe continue to talk about Kluber even though they got their payroll relief by sending Yonder Alonzo to the Pale Hose. Is it notable that the Braves are not listed? Nah. Based on what I’ve seen over the last 2 weeks especially, I think these writer dudes just make half their tweets up anyway.

That would be Cincy’s #’s 1 & 2 prospects, both OF’s. I have to think it’s Stenzel OR Trammell, not both. Both would be insane. But the real point here is that they need OF’s really badly. And that’s probably why JPM listed the teams he did… they are known to want pitching and have OF’s. I suppose the Braves are kind of the opposite. It could also impact how the Braves make a deal for an OF as the same teams are probably also in dialogue with Thoppy about our young pitching… specifically LAD and maybe even MIL.

Matt Harvey has a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels that could be worth up to $14 million with performance bonuses, league sources tell Yahoo Sports. Deal is pending a physical. @Feinsand was first with the news.

I was wondering about where Harvey would end up. I guess he was too expensive for AA to take a run at.

A fairly safe prediction methinks Ber. we the Christmas and New Years upon us, most people are not thinking about business, just vacations somewhere. They will either be skiing or at a beach somewhere. Just they way it works out for the moneyed class.

It’s kind of easy to take shots at Thoppy right now since others are making moves and he’s quiet. Let’s not forget he did strike big and strike early. Would we feel differently if he signed JD this week instead of last month?

The daily Realmuto : Sources : Astros are not offering Tucker. Braves still in. Rays, Reds, Padres would all need to up the ante to get serious. Could go into 2019 with J.T. on MIA. Would not surprise me if some other team got involved. % updated.

Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig and Alex Wood have been traded to the Cincinnati Reds, league sources tell Yahoo Sports. Homer Bailey is one of the players going back to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The return for the Dodgers clearly will be more.

Between salary and buyout Bailey is due $28M. Kemp is due $21.5 and thru arb process Puig/Wood will fetch about $22M. So #Dodgers — unless money changes hands here — have cleared out OF and $, so maybe they will take a run at Harper. #Reds

Homer Bailey was their version of Julio Teheran except much much worse. Last season he won exactly 1 game in 20 starts with a 6.09 ERA, and he’s due $23M this year with a $25M team option next year that contains a $5M buyout.

Anything to get rid of Homer Bailey made sense.

And in return, they get 2 everyday OF’s that can crush baseballs, especially in the little league park, as well as a very useful and versatile lefty pitcher plus another ML reserve.

The big takeaway from this is that the money LAD is saving will allow them to sign Bryce Harper. That will happen now. That was the entire focus of the trade from their standpoint. Bailey will never suit up for the Dodgers. He’ll simply be released in much the same way Adrian Gonzalez was by the Braves last year.

Yes, that could be possible, the Braves could be faced with a short term overpay but there was no way they would pay Kemp $22MM. The going rate for free agent outfielders of lesser renown seems to me to be between $16MM and $22MM. To think they are going to get by for less is a pipe dream.

Jose Martinez was the Cardinals’ second-best hitter in 2018, he has a .309/.372/.478 slash line over 915 career MLB plate appearances, and he isn’t eligible to hit free agency until after the 2022 season. On most clubs, Martinez would be considered a valuable building block — in St. Louis, he has already become an afterthought.

Jose Martinez was the Cardinals’ second-best hitter in 2018, he has a .309/.372/.478 slash line over 915 career MLB plate appearances, and he isn’t eligible to hit free agency until after the 2022 season. On most clubs, Martinez would be considered a valuable building block — in St. Louis, he has already become an afterthought.

Well, the Braves could use a corner outfielder with a solid bat….

Gil, I hear he’s terrible in the outfield…but, you hear a lot of things. How good can anyone be that has only recently started playing a position. There is a reason baseball folks put guys at one position. Yes, there are guys that can play multiple positions with ease. But, we still see that as a bonus these days, as many players can’t. \
Some guys just need the reps to get better. The dude just flat out rakes. But doesn’t have much power. Nick M, but 5 years younger, and a bit better hitter average wise.

Jose Martinez was still in high-A in the Braves system at 25. He’s already 30 and doesn’t field particularly well at any position. For my personal preference, I think if I’m gonna take a poor fielder I’d rather have Nick Castellanos.

But if we are talking true preference, both of these two bat RH and the lineup really needs a LH bat… like Joc Pederson. 🙂

Yes Ber, Adam Jones had a bit of a down year last season but he also did not have much protection in the line up. I don’t think his defense has fallen off at all. I know he turned down a trade to the Nationals last season but who knows the whys and how fors on that.

Vee, that is the current $64,000 question. Either or both… I suspect the Braves are in on both with similar players being offered and the Braves could pull back on one if the Indians or Marlins accept an offer but there are a lot of teams making a run at Kluber and I suspect a like number for Realmuto but the market for Realmuto is getting thinner.

To be sure, both the Mets and the Nationals have improved their pitching depth this winter but the Braves are the wild card team when it comes to pitching. The only question is how durable all those young arms can be. Could it be we will no longer be looking at pitchers who typically toss 200 plus innings a season but now 150 will become the norm?

I personally believe AA is waiting for the rest of the suitors to fall away and for the price tag on JTR to come back to reality. And when it finally does happen, the Braves will have the best offer on the table. One that actually makes sense.

V, I will grant you Peterson has potential…but….his career B.A. is .228. .248, .321 in 2018. He lead off a lot last year, which explains the 25 HR’s and only 56 RBI’s but with risp, he only hit 2 HR’s drove in 27, and hit .217. Also, if folks wouldn’t give Matt Adams a chance against lefties…. in 57 ab’s he only hit .170 against them last year. so, he’s a platoon guy, unless they give him a chance. And, this is weird, never played in RF last year. I am sure he can play there . He also hit 10 of his 25 HR’s in June. One positive, he hit .275 on the road

Yes Ber, they all have their warts don’t they? One has to wonder what was the cause of the fall off for Duval. Nagging injury? Being exposed? Fatigue? A hitch in his swing? Failure to make adjustments? Thinking too much? Given the nature of a major league hitter, I am incline to believe it is the latter, after all, he has shown he is a gold glove caliber fielder in the past. One would have to believe spring training will be a very big tell for him.

Vee, to be sure, I am of the mind that Jeter is looking for a Texiera type haul for Realmuto. Where he screwed up was letting Yelich go so cheap. Stanton was a salary dump plain and simple and to be frank, I still look for the Yankees to try and trade away Gilcarlos at some point.

I am of the mind that Jeter is looking for a Texiera type haul for Realmuto.

No doubt. But he’s not gonna get what he thinks he should be getting. He might have been a great baseball player, but that doesn’t make him a good businessman. He has handled this ham-handedly from the very beginning. Once JTR let it be known that he would not sign any extension in MIA, Jeter was behind the 8-ball. But instead of maximizing his return quickly, he got greedy and tried to put the squeeze on everyone else. Problem is, all 29 other GMs – including the former player agent – knows that you have very little leverage with an expiring asset.

At some point, and probably in the next 2 weeks, Jeter is going to look out at the landscape of things and realize he doesn’t have 16 teams bidding up on his catcher. He’ll have about 2 remaining. And at that point he’ll have to simply take the best offer he has sitting in front of him.

And it won’t include Kyle Tucker. Forrest Whitley, Mike Soroka or Ozzie Albies. (But it might include Sean Newcomb.)

I have alot of confidence that Thoppy knows what he’s doing in crafting the 2019 roster. I also am confident that the long stretch of quiet does not mean a long stretch of inactivity… just a well-known sense of stealth.

My one concern is that he is overplaying his hand in waiting out JTR, and letting some other needs go unanswered. Not that he doesn’t intend to answer them, but it almost seems like the JTR deal must come first with the rest to follow like dominoes. And thus it’s all being held up. That doesn’t disregard JD and Mac, but there are other needs… like RF and a veteran starter.

But I’m just a guy sitting behind a keyboard in the foothills of the beautiful N GA mountains. What do I know?

As we all are Vee, except I am not in the foothills of the Georgia mountains but we all have to be somewhere until we are not…

We are not alone in playing where is Realmuto or Kluber or Bumgardner or any of a ssortment of good players still on the market. I think we all would like to have the trade market be in the rear view mirror so we have one less unknown to deal with.

I’m hoping all of the Braves are getting back to work now that the Holidays are drawing to a close, we have seen that those who put things off until spring training will be behind the eight ball from the get go. Now that is not to mean they should wear themselves out, just stay in baseball shape so they are not starting from square one in February.

We are not alone in playing where is Realmuto or Kluber or Bumgardner or any of assortment of good players still on the market.

Prediction? I see JTR coming here, I see Kluber in LAD, I see Bumgarner staying put until the July deadline, I see Manny in pinstripes, and I see Bryce in historic Wrigley Field… which will start a whole new cascade of rumors when they have to dump some current payroll to accommodate Harper.

I would not be opposed to JHey returning to the Braves for a reduced rate, no team is going to take on his inflated salary but methinks half price would be a good deal for both the Cubs and the Braves.

Braves get Heyward and catcher Willson Contreras, the latter of which is not even arbitration-eligible yet. Cubs get Tyler Flowers, which is a wash offensively for them.Cubs still have former Brave Victor Caratini to catch with FlowersNet salary swap is ~$13+ million more for Atlanta; Cubs that much less.Sets up a possible future catching tandem of Contreras and Contreras once the younger brother reaches the majors.

I did not say he was, sorry by I guess my post was confusing. Talking heads were predicting Kluber would be traded to the Dodgers, Harper would sign with the Cubs. I will be more careful in the future.

Bowman advocates patience for fans and caution for the Braves, noting:

In some ways, it feels like the time is right for the Braves to use their prospect and financial resources to strike a big deal. But if that big deal is not the right deal, you run the risk of looking at it 14 years later and wondering if winning that one additional division title with J.D. Drew was worth sacrificing possibly a decade-plus worth of Adam Wainwright’s value.

Ouch. He had to go there…

I look forward to a whole year, or at least a major portion of the year, of Mike Soroka. He’s the real deal, folks.

If Craig Kimbrel’s market drops to the point where he is willing to accept a three-year deal, the Braves may entertain a reunion if they still have the funds necessary to pay the closer who will likely receive a yearly salary of at least $18 million.

IMO, it’s too much for a closer. In this day of pitch counts and multi-inning relievers, the closer per se is a relatively lesser commodity. And often times, getting through the toughest part of the lineup late happens in the 7th or 8th… not always the 9th. To me, it’s more important to have a complete bullpen, not just one dominant guy that might not even get up in the 9th because the team lost the lead in the 7th or 8th. Given last year’s emergence of Chad Sobotka, Jesse Biddle and Dan Winkler, added to AJ Minter and Shane Carle, plus the likely presence of swing guys like Max Fried or possibly Luiz Gohara, I don’t see the need to shell out that much for Kimbrel, as much as I love the guy. I’d prefer to make a lesser investment in a veteran like David Robertson or Adam Ottavino. (And I didn’t forget about Viz… I just don’t find him dependable.)

Yes Vee, there is always that… A cautionary tale if there ever was one. The same could be true of the Texeria trade with Texas. I’m sure the Marlins want Riley, Soroka, Pache and Acuna… oh, and Flowers as a throw in… The Braves have not yet seen enough of any of these kids to know their full potential. There is always an element of luck involved.

Another guy to not sleep on is youngster Jacob Webb, whom the Braves chose to protect from this year’s Rule 5 draft. He’s a guy that could be in ATL sooner than later as a late inning setup guy.

The hard throwing 25-year-old RH appeared in 21 games for AA Mississippi before being bumped to AAA Gwinnett for 30 more.

The poop:

Webb was an infielder at tiny Tabor College, an NAIA program in Kansas, when a lack of production moved him to the mound full-time. He became Tabor’s ace and landed in the 18th round of the 2014 Draft, the first time any player from that program had been drafted. After a solid debut that summer, he needed Tommy John surgery in 2015, and when he returned in 2016, he moved into the bullpen where, after shaking off the rust, he’s been able to move quickly, reaching Triple-A in 2018.

Webb is now a prototypical two-pitch power pitcher. A fastball that sat in the low 90s back during his Tabor days is now comfortably up in the 95-96 mph range in shorter stints with a sneaky quick arm, which adds deception. His slider can be a little inconsistent, but when it’s on, it shows very good depth. He misses a ton of bats, but command has been an issue from time to time, though he improved in that regard a bit in 2018.

His power stuff means he doesn’t have to have pinpoint command. He’s definitely put himself on the radar as a viable bullpen piece for the big league staff with how he’s returned from that 2015 elbow surgery. He’s closed games in the Minors, but his ceiling is probably as a setup man in Atlanta.

It’s good to have alot of options. I’d still like to add a veteran for the 9th inning, but not at $18M.

Cody Allen is still available, and for probably for about 2 years / $8M per year. I can live with that.

LOL… Okay, we get your point. Personally, I was being lazy but I am old so there is that…

One thing I noticed is that no one worked on making any trades last night and this will be another short work week for those folks who are gainfully employed. For me, well, it will be another week.

Back in the day when I was in the employ of the Evil Empire, I hated the first of the year because all the pointee haired bosses would return full of piss and vinegar and refreshed and wanting to crack the whip on us lowly peons. Now I just hope that they don’t do something stupid and cause my stock shares to tank…

Okay, enough reminiscing, time to get serious and sign Harper and trade for Kluber and Realmuto while fleecing everyone and keeping all of our top thirty prospects. I know, the likelihood of that happening is pretty dang near zero but if you read what some of the geniuses on the net have to say, you would wonder why Thoppy has not traded the Jackson twins for a ACE.

Happy New Year everyone! Sure didn’t expect to see so many posts over the last few days…
so, can we make the Bulldogs honorary Braves? Guess they shouldn’t have flapped their mouths so much about what an insult it was to play a team ranked 15th, and how they were going to make a point about how good they were…
Oh well…I don’t follow them, but I know a lot of bulldog fans…I know the feeling when a team seems like it’s the best team, but doesn’t prove it at the end of the season…do you all know that feeling? 😛

I know the feeling when a team seems like it’s the best team, but doesn’t prove it at the end of the season…

UGA had a great team this season, and IMO were worthy of a top 4 spot when the regular season ended. But when Notre Dame was gifted the playoff spot instead – BTW, they were predictably destroyed by Clemson – it changed everything.

First, when Defensive Coordinator Mel Tucker was hired as the new head coach at the University of Colorado, he was allowed to leave the team prior to the Sugar Bowl. Had UGA been in the playoff bracket, that would not have happened. And losing the DC is a big deal… as was evidenced by the poor play on that side of the ball, especially in the 1st quarter.

Second, Jim Thorpe Award winner Deandre Baker, the consensus best defensive back in the country, chose to skip the game in preparation in anticipation of being drafted high in the 1st round of the NFL draft. He chose that path to protect against injury that could potentially cost him millions of $$. He was on record stating that had UGA been on the playoff he would NOT have skipped the game. His absence was definitely felt.

And of course, it did appear that the team just simply was not focused, especially in the 1st half. The 2 uncharacteristic fumbles, several dropped passes, several poor passes… they just didn’t look like the same team that dominated Alabama for 3 quarters last month. Maybe if Kirby had not had to split time as the defacto DC, he could have better prepared the team overall.

Oh… it also didn’t help that their leading tackler and defensive leader linebacker D’Andre Walker missed the game with injury. Of course, all teams deal with injury. That’s just part of it. That would not have changed.

I say all that to say this…

Texas won the game. Period. No excuses. But I would have liked to have seen UGA with their season long DC in place and their Jim Thorpe Award winner on the field. That would have happened if UGA had played Clemson in a more meaningful game.

OK… so while we were looking the other direction, a few minor signings occurred, along with one that has impact elsewhere:

Jeff Passan, now at ESPN, reported this yesterday: Japanese left-hander Yusei Kikuchi agreed to a deal with the Seattle Mariners late Monday night, league sources familiar with the deal told ESPN

He continued with the details: The base deal is for three years and $43 million. Following the 2021 season, the Mariners can trigger a four-year, $66 million extension. If they decline to do so, Kikuchi either can trigger a $13 million option for the 2022 season or elect free agency. The deal guarantees $56 million and can be worth as much as $109 million.

So why is that significant? First, the deal boils down to $14M per season average over the 4 guaranteed years. And if an unproven pitcher who has never even tossed a salad on this side of the big pond can get 4 years @$14M per year, what will Dallas Keuchel get? Thus far, DK (and Scott Boras) have been insisting on a 5 year deal, and that 5th year seems to be the sticking point that has him still on the market. Of course, being the last top pitcher available is not a bad thing. And when he finally accepts a 4 year deal, you can bet it will be for alot more than a $14M per year average. Look more for like $20M… and maybe more. And not from Atlanta.

V, I had just heard bits and pieces of what you mentioned. (like the coach leaving before the Sugar Bowl which seems like a “clown move” no matter what the reason was) and the star player not playing, but I didn’t know that it was because it was not a playoff game…thanks for the 411

Uh… that’s probably Gio Gonzalez. He pitched to an unsightly 4.21 ERA last season, but he did chew up 171 innings. I’ll pass, thanks. I’d rather just keep Julio than go that direction. Julio’s 3.94 ERA came over 175.2 IP, so it’s no improvement in any area… except for maybe dingers allowed. Julio’s 26 far outpaced Gio’s 17. Then again, Julio’s 26 outpaced most pitchers…

A lot of ACE money being thrown at non ACE pitchers. Of course it may just be the “new normal” … I remember back in 1981 (were either of you born yet?) when I bought a new car for the first time since ’73. The price of a car had jumped from $3500 to $10,000 for basically the same car. I think that has happened to the Braves. The price has gone up while they were in the middle of their rebuild. I think it’s called old people’s syndrome. You know, when you can remember working for a buck an hour and suddenly the same job pays $15 and that is low end.

I doubt Liberty Media still charges 1999 prices for whatever they sell. if the Marlins were sold for just shy of one billion dollars, how much do ya’ll thing the Atlanta franchise is worth?

So, Atlanta and as a extension her fans will have to get use to the New York prices being charged because that is just going to be what it takes to win consistently in today’s game.

Sadly, until the Braves can shed that albatross TV deal and get a modern pocket-lining pact, they’ll be dragging stones like Jacob Marley (final Christmas reference of the season). As successful as The Battery has been financially for the organization, it still carries alot of construction cost, so its profit margin is still tempered by those remaining debts. It certainly helps, but it’s not the whole answer.

The TV deal is the key, and has been since the Yankees launched the YES Network.

It’s no coincidence that the Braves are owned by a media corporation. They are playing the long game knowing that a cash cow is on the horizon after 2027.

Mark Meltzer, Atlanta Business Chronicle in 2016: [Liberty Media CEO Greg] Maffei said while sports broadcasting star ESPN has to deal with the potential losses from cable watchers cutting their cords and ESPN having to deliver skinnier TV bundles, the Braves can hope for better revenue once their 20-year local TV rights deal expires in 2027. Maffei said it is “the longest-lived deal in baseball.”

Baseball’s national TV revenues, of which the Braves get a portion, also are growing, Maffei said, thanks in part to Braves Chairman Terry McGuirk, a former Turner Broadcasting CEO who sits on the sport’s media rights committee.

“So the opportunity I think looks good for national, but particularly looks good for us in local given that we have this long-lived contract which is less attractive than many of our peers,” Maffei said.

Translation: They own the flower and are simply waiting for the bud to blossom.

Speaking of Jeff Passan, his new piece for ESPN has a couple of interesting notes:

Among [pitchers] who are clearly available, Sonny Gray might head the list. The number of trade iterations around Gray this winter has been staggering. There was traction, at one point, on a three-way deal among the Yankees, Rangers and Braves that would have sent Gray to Atlanta, a prospect to Texas and infielder Jurickson Profar to New York. The Rangers wound up shipping Profar to Oakland in another three-way deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Cincinnati Reds showed significant interest in Atlanta Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte, according to sources, and though talks stagnated and eventually they dealt for outfielders Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp, Cincinnati still doesn’t have a center fielder.

And before we all let out a collective groan over Sonny Gray’s name being mentioned again, maybe this additional note on Passan’s ESPN colleague Sarah Langs is something we should consider:

A different venue seems to be exactly what Gray needs, at least based on his pitching results. In his time with the Yankees, he has a 6.55 ERA in 88 innings pitched at home, with a 1.70 WHIP, .290 opponents’ batting average and .885 opponents’ OPS. But in 107⅔ innings away from Yankee Stadium, he has a 2.84 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, .223 opponents’ average and .624 OPS against.

It’s a smaller sample, but those road numbers reflect more of the pitcher the Yankees likely expected they were getting in the 2017 trade for three prospects. The Gray they acquired had a 3.42 career ERA to that point, which would’ve been 2.97 if not for his disaster of a 2016 season that included a 5.69 ERA and just 22 starts.

The cold reality is that acquiring an “ace” simply is not realistic this year. Perhaps a stable veteran to anchor the young’uns and to go to the post when called upon (195.2 IP in 2018) might be just as valuable. Well, as long as he doesn’t give up 26 HR’s of course. We already have a guy like that… at least for the moment. If Gray could be this year’s Anibal, albeit with more innings to give, then maybe Folty and Newk – and Soroka – can become home grown aces.

OK… enough stewing. My initial thought went to Johan Camargo, as the Yanks likely would have used Profar as a Super Utility man. But I reconsidered and went more toward Charlie Culberson, as I’ve heard they had already shown some interest in Charlie already.

But…

With their signing of Tulo, that kind of fills the spot that Charlie or Johan would have occupied… the guy who holds the place for Didi Gregorious. According to those who follow the Bombers, they are now focused on improving their bullpen. To that end, who would they target on the Braves roster in a swap for Sonny Gray?

As a reminder to start the new year, Ronald Acuña Jr., who turned 21 on Dec. 18, did his .293/.366/.552 w/ 26 HR, 78 runs, 64 RBIs and 16 SB in only 111 games, without any prior MLB experience. That projects to 38 homers, 114 runs, 93 RBIs and 23 steals over 162 games. #Braves

Yes, that short left field porch does Sonny Gray no favors. Neither does not having that convenient 9 hole in the order to look for outs.

So, what is to be made of Julio’s perchance for giving up gopher balls? Lack of velocity, lack of confidence? I think it is not having a go to pitch for strike three. How many times have we watched Julio get two strikes on a batter only to see said batter foul off pitch after pitch until Julio makes a mistake? I don’t have an answer on how to fix the problem, only that I recognize what that problem is, and if I can see it, you can bet every major league team can see it too.

Two points made by Joel Sherman today may have some relevance to the Braves.

If NYY do not land Machado, I would expect they would still try to enlist a Hechavarria type who would allow them to keep Torres at 2b and provide defense to rest Tulo plus play late for Andujar.

Yanks still have to trade Gray and I think part or the consideration there is how Machado/free agent relievers work out. If they solve issues in free agency, NYY then use Gray to get prospects. If not they use Gray to help with the 25-man roster. I suspect much of this plays out this week or next as we likely find out where Machado, Ottavino and possibly Britton land.

How does this relate to the Braves? Well, I take this to mean that the Yanks won’t move Gray until they settle their flirtation with Manny. If he ends up in pinstripes, their focus shifts 100% to bullpen. If not, then they might come sniffing after Johan or Charlie.

Regardless, Sherman states in matter-of-fact fashion that they “have to trade Gray”, and they could just aim for prospects alone.

Recent comments on Sirius XM radio by Rays OF Tommy Pham, who was traded in mid-season to Tampa from St. Louis:

“It sucks going from playing in front of a great fan base to a team with really no fan base at all. St. Louis, they’re one of the few teams to where day in and day out they have 40,000 fans at every game.

“That’s something that I miss, because even here in the Dominican [where he’s playing winter ball] they have a strong fan base for the team I’m playing for. Their fans are very supportive, they’re loud. And the Rays? They just don’t have that.

“Do I think something has to happen, whether it be a new ballpark, maybe a new city? I think so. Because if you have a team that’s going to be winning 90-plus games, competing in [the American League East], and you don’t have any fan support, that’s a huge problem.”

Nicholas Castellanos….all we hear is that he’s terrible defensively. But, he was in Right, and it was his first season in the outfield. I do NOT trust defensive metrics. “they” said Adam LaRoche was a below average defender, and were not all that kind to Mark Texiera…I mean come on!
so, can he improve to an average Left fielder? He’s 26….

Regarding the latest internet Realmuto-to-Braves rumor: nothing’s changed since the two parties talked early at Winter Meetings. No new negotiations. Marlins would have to come down significantly in asking price. #Braves moved on to priority needs: Corner OF and pitching.

Unless the Marlins re-evaluate their position on Realmuto, my suggestion to the Braves is just wait until he becomes a free agent and then sign him as a free agent if you still think he is worth it. Of course by that time, the Braves may have already found their solution.

Looks like the general consensus is that the market will continue to creep for everyone until Manny and Bryce land with their new teams… and for the Braves more relevant is Bryce, as he will set the remaining OF market for both FA and trades.

Speaking of Bryce, I heard an interesting point made on him yesterday. The commentator opined that if he signed with the ChiSox, he alone would revive baseball on the south side and they would sell out games consistently through the duration of his deal. Not only that, he would become a selling point for future FA’s as well.

Is it crazy to wonder what a real baseball “superstar”, for whatever reason perceived, could have the same effect in Atlanta? And what if he and Acuña were in the same lineup and OF for the foreseeable future?

Would a hypothetical signing of Bryce Harper make the Braves the new favorite in the NL East? (And at no cost of highly valued prospects.)

It’s highly unlikely, of course. Maybe not completely out of the realm of possibility, but highly unlikely.

Braves have somewhere in the neighborhood of $20M-$30M left to spend this offseason. Bryce alone will command an average $30M per season. But what’s to say you can’t backload the deal a bit to take some of the hit into the next few years when we will once again have alot of room to work?

And there’s also the possibility of trading Darren O’Day, who is owed $9M this season himself. I know he’s counted on as a veteran presence for the bullpen, but perhaps instead of Fried or Gohara in relief, it could be Fried and Gohara at a much more payroll friendly rate.

I read on a blog yesterday that there is a perception that the Braves have to address their bullpen, and that it is a serious weakness going into 2019.

I wholeheartedly disagree.

First, the squad they finished the year with actually made a pretty decent unit. I won’t detail it, but there was a pretty nice mix of young and old. We’re losing veteran Brad Brach, but gaining veteran Darren O’Day, who should be just as good if not better. Winkler and Biddle will be a year older and more experienced. Newcomer Chad Sobotka will have an entire year to show what he gave us September. And then there’s AJ Minter, who was not 100% physically late last year, who will also be a year older and fully healthy.

The big question mark comes with Viz, who should be healthy as far as we know. What can we expect from him? When he’s on, he’s really good.

I’ve typed many times that I’d like to add one more veteran to the mix, but at the same time I’m very comfortable going into 2019 with the pitchers we have knowing that the bullpen can be supplemented with a mix of talented youngsters that really have nothing else to prove by starting in AAA.

In 2019, the traditional bullpen recipe of a long man, a coupe middle relievers, a couple setup men and a closer has gone by the wayside. The new formula says to have a handful of swingmen and a handful of guys to mix and matchup from innings 7 through 9. If you have a hammer for the 9th, that’s fine. But teams have learned that sometimes the 8th inning can be higher leverage depending on where the opponent’s lineup falls.

I think we have 4 guys that can handle high leverage innings in Viz, Minter, Wink and Biddle. And I think Jonny can come in and get that one tough lefty out. And I think Carle and Fried are good middle innings pitchers. That doesn’t even take Darren O’Day into account.

Do we need Craig Kimbrel? Do we need another reliever?

IMO, we do not. The bullpen should be the last thing on the list. The bullpen should be what AA supplements if he has nothing else to spend payroll $$ on. I think the Braves have much more pressing needs elsewhere. I think the Braves better find an OF or Adam Duvall will be the starting LF on opening day.

.@RaysBaseball announce this morning they are closing the upper deck of the Trop and reducing capacity for games there to between 25K and 26K, further reducing what was already the smallest capacity in MLB.

Of course, I forgot that Portland is already constructing a MLB stadium, even without a team.

Still, given the college success of Vanderbilt’s baseball program, you’d think Nashville would be a great location. The city supports its NFL Titans and NHL Predators fully, and currently is home to the Nashville Sounds, the AAA affiliate of the Texas Rangers.

Both will be under serious consideration for the next round of expansion, but which could take a team right away and have a MLB ready facility?

The reason the Rays aren’t relocating ties into the team’s stadium deal with the city. The Rays never signed a traditional lease. Rather, it signed a Use Agreement, which prevents the team from moving out of Tropicana Field and calls for potentially catastrophic monetary damages should the Rays abandon the stadium before its deal is up in 2027. This is in stark contrast to a traditional lease, where a tenant owes the landlord what’s left on that lease after breaking it.

On top of that, the Use Agreement provides the city with the right to ask for something called specific performance, which in a nutshell means that it could ask a court to force the Rays to stay and play at Tropicana Field. However, this is generally a very difficult thing to get at a court to grant when damages can be quantified, so that remedy seems unlikely.

So that takes us back to the city suing for money – and lots of it – should the Rays fail to honor its agreement. It’s not clear what that amount would be, but the ask is likely to be exorbitant. The city could argue that it should be paid in excess of $100 to $200 million as compensation for the loss of the team and the intangibles that come with an MLB team in a city. Some of these are outlined in the Use Agreement, and include compensation for things like the “creation of new jobs, local employment opportunities, increased business prospects, direct and indirect tax revenues, enhancement of the community’s image and promotional opportunities, and an improvement in life and local pride of the citizenry”.

Well, if the monetary penalty is tied to “local pride of the citizenry”, it would appear they could leave for about a buck and a half.

An opine on the possibility of trading Christian Pache for a mystery player…

While Braves fans are taught to fall in love with every prospect by the publicity department, the truth is, they are all still prospects. One in one hundred will ever make it as a front line player in the major leagues while the rest will top out in Double A or Triple A and still others maybe as a utility guy. Still, unless you are dealing with a dufus and their are few of them still around, you are going to have to trade quality to get quality.

Let’s not forget also that Drew Waters is about to surpass him in the eyes of those in charge. Waters may not be as elite a defender, but is still above average. And his bat is far superior to Pache. And he may be only 1 year behind Pache in development if that. Also, with Ender under contract through ’21 (with a ’22 option) and Acuña here for as long as we can keep him, we aren’t in need of an elite CF anyway.

Ben Chase at Tomahawk Take makes reference to a piece by Braves beat writer Gabe Burns in Baseball America recently:

A quick note from the [William] Contreras piece was that Mike Soroka was back to full velocity in instructional league. Soroka had been noted in a couple of reports to have been at or near full health as the season closed in 2018, but this report definitely is positive for certainly the pitcher who should be the front-runner in a big battle for the 5th spot in the rotation as the team is currently constructed.

TALKING CHOP has a suspect in trade talks, one CRISTIAN PACHE who is supposed to be included in exploratory trade talks with several teams. The prime reason is not his glove, but his lagging bat, something I pointed out during the course of the 2018 campaign and here after the season’s end. Evidently many BRAVES scouts and coaches believe his offense will not play up in the majors.

I think the jury still out on that subject, and it seemed there was some improvement after he was in the Southern League for a period. PACHE will be 20 next season, too early to make a final determination in my judgement, but I don’t see him the way our coaches do of course. His defense and arm are first rate, and without question will propel him to the majors.

But the club already has ACUNA on hand, and they see satisfied with INCIARTE’s play, and his potential going forward. He’s controlled until 2022.

ADAM DUVALL has above average defense, but his bat fell apart this season. I certainly can understand why the BRAVES’ management don’t want to hand him the keys to RF in 2019.

Platooned with a resigned NM fir one year in right might work as a last resort. I’m sure NICK won’t see it that way however. I imagine he wants a two-year deal at the very least especially after the results of this season. His second-half fade might be alleviated by a platoon with DUVALL until DREW WATERS puts in an appearance probably in 2020. But that’s contingent on DUVALL’s bat, a scary proposition at this point.

Making do until PACHE or WATERS put in an appearance will be a tricky proposition. One reason GM’s earn the big bucks. And probably why PACHE has been rumored to be on the move in 2019.

Hey GIL. Went off to Eastern Europe on an 11 day tour of PRAGUE, BUDAPEST, and VIENNA. The Europeans real do up Christmas.

Back here, the die of our future outfield will be cast in this next season. If PACHE makes it to the 2019 season as a BRAVE, MISSISSIPPI will clearly define his future here. If the bat suddenly comes alive in MISSISSIPPI, management will breathe a big sigh of relief, and plug him into the 2020 outfield. If not, well….there’s WATERS.
And if not, a platoon with INCIARTE could always be in the cards because PACHE has no peer defensively.

If WATERS lives up to what management thinks of his offense, another ACUNA could be in the offing.

I think it all depends on PACHE’s bat in 2019 as to the long-term future of ATLANTA’s outfield.

An outfield of ACUNA, INCIARTE, PACHE, and WATERS in 2020 sounds awfully good to me.

Around the infield, RILEY, ALEXANDER, CAMARGO, ALBIES, and FREEMAN with CONTRERAS and a grizzled vet in the squat should bring lots to cheer about in 2021.

By then, starters and ‘pen should be well settled in. We could be looking at a squad fighting for a WS ring in that year.

So Braves beat writer Gabe Burns discussed yesterday the current situation with the Braves and 2018 #1 draft pick Carter Stewart. There is more to the story than we have known up to now. I will attempt to summarize…

First, a refresher. The Braves drafted Stewart out of HS with the overall #8 pick in last year’s draft. Unlike all other pro sports, baseball does not allow for teams to perform their own physicals prior to the draft, instead depending solely on medicals provided by the player himself, and sometimes even written by the player himself. Thus, when the Braves drafted Stewart, they were unaware of a wrist injury that the curveball specialist had incurred during his season. That injury was revealed by the Braves staff after Stewart had been drafted and during the negotiation period. This left the Braves very uncomfortable with the pitcher (IMO they had every right to be uncomfortable not only from a physical standpoint, but also from a trust standpoint) who depended on a healthy wrist to generate the plus spinrate he achieved with his breaking ball… the very thing that got him drafted so high.

As a result of this revelation, the Braves were no longer interested in signing him at slot value, instead tendering him only the minimum 40% of slot value that they could offer to be awarded a consolation pick in 2019 for failing to sign him, according to the guidelines as set forth in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Or did they?

This is now the center of what we now know to be a point of contention. It’s now being reported that right after the falling out with the Braves, Stewart hired Scott Boras as his agent, and the MLBPA filed a grievance against the Braves seeking to have Stewart named a free agent and eligible to be signed by the highest bidder now, and not subject to future drafts. They contend the Braves failed to offer 40% of Stewart’s slot value, or $1,992,280.

And this is the center of the argument: Did the Braves offer 40% of the slot value of the #8 overall pick in 2018?

At stake of course is the consolation pick being the #9 overall pick. The Braves regular first rounder sits at the #21 slot this year, so the #9 pick is significant, especially since they got nothing out of last year’s first rounder. And given the crippling penalties the organization incurred thanks to Coppy-gate, they cannot afford to whiff on high draft picks.

I think it’s an interesting note that Stewart just enrolled in a JUCO for the upcoming academic semester, which is obviously only seen as a baseball season from Stewart’s perspective. He has no interest in actually being a true student/athlete or he would have enrolled at Mississippi State, the D-1 school he had committed to. If his camp felt good about their position, would he have enrolled? Or is he just hedging his bets?

One thing I do know… when Scott Boras is involved, things are never clear. He muddies the water as well as anyone in an effort to benefit from mass confusion. He’s made quite a career from these tactics.

Burns reports that there is no specific timetable for a resolution on the grievance. Personally, I cannot understand this. If the question is whether or not the Braves offered the requisite $1,992,280, it should be fairly cut-and-dry, right? They either did or they did not. That’s the great thing about numbers. They are absolute and not subject to interpretation.

Or are they? When Scott Boras is involved, reason and ration go out the window.

From a fan’s perspective, I look at the big picture and see player deception, Scott Boras, and union involvement and immediately think the worst of the player. But is that fair?

Here are the only absolutes that I objectively glean from this…

The player hid an injury from a prospective drafting team, one that had been in constant contact with him prior to the draft. Those are facts.

The injury was significant and affected the ceiling/floor potential of the prospect. That is fact.

The team discovered the injury after the pick was made and was no longer interested in investing premium money in an uncertain prospect because of medical questions. That is fact.

Stewart was not interested in a lowered bonus amount. That is fact.

The Braves opted to take the safe approach, allowing Stewart to walk away and settling for the compensation pick in 2019 instead. That is fact.

The only real question that needs to be answered is if they followed the established protocol to do so. That is apparently still in doubt.

I cannot believe that an official in a professional sports front office, a person given the responsibility to handle the details in a significant and important duty with regard to the long term health of the organization, would fail to meet a simple and absolute standard in order to achieve an established outcome. Could they? Could someone have dropped the ball in such an egregious manner? And if so, who was the point person who fumbled so badly?

If baseball finds that the Braves did NOT meet that 40% threshold in their offer, someone needs to be fired. Such a critical procedure cannot be handled that poorly.

I’m seriously hoping the grievance is only a red herring precipitated by Boras in his typical scattershot manner in an effort to force the league to give his player something not earned. After all, Boras has everything to gain and nothing to lose. Sadly, Stewart has already lost by becoming a pawn in Boras’ game. If the findings go against him, he then has to play a JUCO season and hope he’s physically able to perform up to 1st round status again. And even if he does, every team will be leery of him based on the events chronicled. We said at the time that his best interest would be to sign for a lowered amount and begin receiving treatment from a major league medical staff – the best that money can buy. Had he done so, he would likely be able to once again generate that elite spinrate. Unless he found the same quality medical treatment on his own, and at his own expense, the chances of him repeating his pre-injury performance this season are not very high.

I wish Carter Stewart success on the field, but not in the hearing chamber. The kid has received a succession of bad advice. Hopefully soon he can start thinking clearly for himself.

In a report I read last night, MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi says the Indians are looking for “Chris Sale-level return” for either Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer. If you’ll recall, the ChiSox got baseball’s #1 overall prospect in Yoan Moncada, a Top 10 pitching prospect in Michael Kopech, and 2 additional mid-tier IF prospects from the BoSox for Sale.

Good luck with that.

This is merely a symptom of the current condition of teams and agents around the league. Shoot for the moon, wait it out, and finally settle for less. It accomplishes a couple of things. It holds up the market well into the offseason and it puts pressure on GMs who need to get their rosters settled… possibly forcing acquiring teams to overpay. Some will, some won’t. And those that won’t are then pressured in both the mainstream media and social media. After all, we here at the ol’ B&S are somewhat guilty of being impatient with our own GM ourselves.

As of this morning, there is still over 5 weeks before P&CR for spring. That’s still a significant amount of time to get things done. Once the biggest names sign – Manny and Bryce – the rest will begin to fall in line, both in FA and trades.

IMO, the Tribe will keep both Kluber and Bauer. They don’t need to trade either and have nothing to lose by asking a high ransom in return of trade for one, or just simply keeping both.

IMO, the Fish will continue to mishandle the Realmuto situation and drag it out past the point most teams will remain interested. I won’t be surprised to see JTR in their Opening Day lineup. God bless him.

IMO, the Braves will acquire their new RF shortly after Bryce signs and his spurned suitors move on to other business. There are alot of teams that match up with the Braves in terms of pitching/OF needs and surpluses; so it’s not a matter of finding a match, just of determining the best match.

IMO, the Braves will not acquire another starting pitcher, instead going into the season with Julio as the #4 starter behind Folty, Newk and Gausman, with Soroka, Touki and Wright (and dark horse Bryce Wilson) battling for the #5 spot.

IMO, the Braves will add a veteran reliever to add depth to the overall pitching staff and hedge against short outings by their young staff.

IMO, the Braves will make more of a splash in July than they will prior to Opening Day.

This is one reason that dragging out OF and pitching acquisitions is harmful to the overall task of putting the 2019 roster together. Adding a bona fide starting OF could result in Duvall being non-tendered. Adding a late inning reliever could result in Viz being non-tendered. Adding any reliever could result in Sam Freeman being non-tendered.

Plus, if the team had its payroll mostly set for 2019, Thoppy might could see his way clear to offering a multi-year deal to Folty and settling that issue once and for all.

I hope that deadline date will also be a motivating factor for all teams to get things going, prompting Manny and Bryce to get signed and allowing the rest of the dominoes to fall.

#1: I do not blame any player for doing what is best for his own career and livelihood.
#2: I do not begrudge any team or organization for doing the same.
#3: I hate it when the lawyers get involved but it is what it is so we have a lot of animosity built up between players and management because human nature it appears is to get greedy…

Slights and perceived slights, is their really any difference? Sadly, not in the mind of a baseball player. The ego that makes one a great player can also be a ball players worst enemy.

Okay, enough of the soapbox… I sure hope the Braves hitting instructors can fix whatever was wrong with Adam Duval. He did appear to get better towards the end of the season last year. A platoon between him and Markais would not be the worse thing for Atlanta.

What I do not expect to see is for the Braves to trade for a rookie to play in the outfield, they have enough of those already and despite the success of Albies and Acuna last season, it is not normal for a team to go for the gold with more than one rookie in the everyday line up.

So, the only real problem with a such a plethora of young arms on the roster is the number of innings one can reasonable expect them to throw in a season. I guess that is why the adage is to have a reasonable expectation of competing for a championship is you need at least 7 major league capable starters available at the beginning of the season.

My question is who will Julio turn to for advice this season? Erwin Santana provided it in Julio’s early days and we saw Anibal step up last season. Do y’all think anyone is lobbying harder than Julio for Bryce Harper to get out of the NL East?

You know, I say that in jest, but Kranitz was instrumental in Aaron Nola taking a huge step forward in 2018. If it weren’t for the fact that he’s 60, and that up-and-comer 37-year-old Chris Young was being targeted by a number of teams – Braves included – for vacant pitching coach positions, Kranitz would still be up in the City Of Brotherly Shove. He is an under-the-radar major improvement for the Braves in 2019.

According to industry sources, [Marlins CEO Derek] Jeter is letting his baseball ops people know that he needs a major league player back in return for catcher J.T. Realmuto. The feeling is the Marlins got burned in the Christian Yelich deal with the Brewers and they’re going to make sure they get a young, controllable, proven major leaguer in a package for the sought-after catcher. The Astros and Braves seem to be hanging in there on talks that seem endless.

Overall, the market still has some very good positional players and even All-Star-caliber players. Obviously, the big two are Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. The next tier includes All-Star outfielder Nick Markakis. Also available are former Astros utilityman Marwin Gonzalez, second basemen DJ LeMahieu, Jed Lowrie, Brian Dozier, and Josh Harrison; shortstops Freddy Galvis and Jose Iglesias; third baseman Mike Moustakas; outfielders A.J. Pollock, Avisail Garcia, Adam Jones, and Carlos Gonzalez; and catcher Yasmani Grandal.

“I think everyone is looking for a bargain,” said one prominent agent. “It’s no different than it’s been in the past, in my opinion. We as agents always think we can get multiple years for our players, but it doesn’t work that way anymore. Sometimes you have to settle and hope that a good performance triggers a multiyear deal the following season. That’s what it’s come to.”

While his overall point is worth noting here, what I found most interesting is that he placed ol’ buddy Kakes by himself in a tier just below the two big dogs.

I want to address something that seems to be blowing up among Braves fans currently, and argue something about it that nobody else seems to be arguing…

I have seen in many, many local and national web sites and blogs referencing a quote from Ken Rosenthal that he made in a recent article in his new capitalist success story The Athletic.

The quote is this:

Information from major-league sources: The Braves’ remaining need is an outfielder, but the team might end up turning to Adam Duvall in left field if the market for a desirable free agent or trade candidate plummets and the team chooses to redirect its money or prospect capital to that player.

And I give that statement a credibility rating of “baloney”. Actually, it’s a bit misleading, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

First, we have to remember that Rosenthal started The Athletic as a pay-to-see web site that has grown into being a catch-all for all major sports in all major cities. But the key here is that it is a pay site. And that’s awesome for him. He’s found a niche that people are willing to pay for and he’s making good coin, hiring good writers, and reaching alot of eyes. Good for him and God bless America.

But he does it for the money. It puts bread on his table. And there is an old adage: Follow the money.

Think about this – how many times has this quote been cited and re-quoted over the last 2 days with a link to Rosenthal’s piece… a piece that sits behind a paywall and requires a subscription to view?

Also think about this… how much real information have we gotten about the Braves this offseason? That’d be nuthin’. So suddenly we get some smoke appearing in front of an information starved fanbase who are being directed to a possible fire that sits behind a paywall. I don’t buy it. Literally.

Now, let’s parse the quote…

First, he didn’t get anything firsthand himself. He’s citing unnamed sources… his infamous sources. He didn’t even cite them as Braves sources. Just “league sources”. I suppose that the now tight-lipped Braves office shared something with another team’s office, who subsequently let it out? R-i-g-h-t…

Second, he states the team’s well established “need”, then conveniently slips the word “might” into his assertion along with a couple of “if” conditions. That’s like me saying, “The Braves need a RF. The team might look to sign Bryce Harper if his price tag drops to a level they are comfortable with.”

Or “I need a truck. I might obtain one if the guy down the street is has a mental breakdown and lets me have his for $10.”

I haven’t and won’t pay for reading DOB or Rosenthal or anyone else at The Athletic because anything worth noting is repeated across the blogosphere anyway. And quite honestly, I’ve found that I can discover news about the Braves from a myriad of other writers besides DOB… believe it or not. There’s Bowman, Burns, Cafardo, Sherman, Heyman, Passan… and the list goes on, not to mention countless blogs that cite and quote them all. That’s not a slam at The Athletic. It’s just my preference. But I won’t for a minute pretend that something that smacks of click-bait has more credibility than information (or lack thereof) from a host of other writers who post information for free just because it has Ken Rosenthal’s name attached. Why have Bowman or Burns, two writers who are in Thoppy’s back pocket as much as anyone, not mentioned something along the same lines? Instead, both continue to assert a belief that AntMan will acquire a RF when the market fits his preference.

So just in case I haven’t made my position clear on this, I do not believe that well constructed and well placed “rumor”. It’s nothing but but a worm on a hook. And it smells about as bad.

It is not often that you see one of the best college football programs in the country get embarrassed but Clemson had some serious ownage of Bama last night. 44-13 and it wasn’t that close. Three opportunities by the Tide met with utter disappointment. For sure, the Tigers left little doubt which team was superior last night.

I must say, it is nice to be able to watch a game where you have absolutely nothing riding on the outcome.

Gil, that performance by Clemson last night was on of the best overall performances by a team I’ve ever seen. And that’s across all phases of the game. The blocked better, they ran better, the threw better, they caught better, they stuffed the run better, they defended the pass better, they caused turnovers better, they kicked and received better, they simply did it all better. They even coached better. It was overwhelming and convincing. That Clemson team last night was one of the best college teams I’ve ever seen play the game, at least for that one game.

I don’t think The Athletic is a bad thing. That’s certainly not what I was driving at. I just don’t like a random negative rumor that “triggers” fans for the purpose of creating a response and eliciting clicks (a/k/a more $$) for the author. I see enough of that from the fake-news mainstream media.

Well, since I don’t require you to pay for my crazy theories, and since no one will cite it anywhere else either, I’ve got one of my own for you to chew on.

I made note yesterday of the White Sox signing Kelvin Herrera and asserting that his somewhat pricey deal probably indicated that they had abandoned their hope of signing Manny Machado. But today… I am making a complete 180 on that statement. In fact, I think they are about to pull off a landmark coup and bring Ber’s favorite player to the South Side and revitalize that once proud, now stagnant franchise.

Why do I say that? Yesterday, they signed OF Jon Jay to a $4M / 1-year deal.

So what’s the big deal with that? Well, couple that with their earlier trade to acquire 1B/DH Yonder Alonso and it becomes a bit more clear. That would be Manny’s brother-in-law Yonder Alonso… who along with the aforementioned Jon Jay make up a trio of close friends/family who train together every offseason in South Fla.

Excerpt: For Jon, Yonder and I, Miami means family, good friends, culture and … baseball. Each winter we meet up in our hometown and we go to work. We laugh a lot, too, and have fun together. – Manny Machado

Sounds like a pretty close relationship, doesn’t it?

I think The ChiSox could be an exciting team to watch in 2019. They’re certainly working hard to bounce back. I like what they’re doing, and what they are trying to do. I’ll watch ’em.

Not saying I buy in, and not saying I’m totally blowing this off either, but I only went back and looked at Mish’s twitter account after seeing a seemingly random post at a fringe discussion board out there in the blogosphere.

A person hiding behind a nondescript user name posted that a big name is about to be acquired and that physicals are being conducted now. He said the announcement would come Weds/Thurs. There was no other info. It was a “drive-by comment”, if you will. This poster has no connection to the team that I am aware of.

I would not have even given it a second thought if Mish, who is based in Miami, had not just posted his tweets.

In all likelihood, this is totally coincidence and there is absolutely nothing to it. Still… a weird coincidence in timing, don’tcha think?

I thought…I posted last friday at work, but I try not to spend a bunch of time writing at work, for obvious reasons…I think I kept coming back to a long post, never finished it, and closed my browser at the end of the day …D’oh…
anyways, I was chiming in about relievers…I know the braves will probably have to get creative with so very many young arms, and keeping innings down for the year..but, remember how bad Folty was out of the pen? Gohara didn’t seem to do well there either…
Thanks why I don’t like the fact they didn’t spend on a really good bullpen guy, while our rivals did. Remember last spring training(and the year before) how it seemed that our bullpen was going to be fine, and it wasn’t?
Remember last year when our closer went down, and other guys that did great in the 6th, 7th, and 8th, were not so good closing out games? I just don’t like the thought of an “ok” bullpen…someone will be hurt, or not effective as they were last year. (I predict if the Red Sox will be lucky to be a .500 team next year if they let Kimbrel go along with losing Joe Kelly) Every team save one has improved this offseaon, and there’s more time for them to do so too…

Darrin O’Day? One who is often overlooked… Yes. it is frustrating to see other teams making upgrades but they are chasing right now. Still, I think the Braves are/were talking out of both sides of their mouth when it comes to payroll. BOO HOO… Poor Me… That is the impression I get from the Braves and Liberty when you hear them whine about player salaries.

Yes, I know the Braves are not the Yankees or the Red Sox but they could be… If you are always complaining about being poor, people will believe you are. Not exactly the environment a success will want to be associated with.

No, I don’t want to see the team spend like drunken sailors but no one wants to watch a Triple A team play while being charges $75 for a ticket either…

Yes, there are always concerns about players coming back from injury. That is the thing about putting together a roster. You just never know how it is going to all work out. Injuries, attitudes, old age all have a way of belaying the best laid plans. Just ask the Mets and the Nats how it all worked out for them last season.

To be sure, the Nats had to have been one of the biggest underachievers in 2018.

Truly, I can understand the Braves reluctance to sell their future at the expense of making another Texiera type trade.

So, next week we may be talking about a completely different topic but I suspect not…

I sit corrected, thanks V. I guess I saw surgery, and it was a pitcher….well, I assumed…you know what happens when one assumes…
He’s also 35-36, sidearmer…great against tough righties, if say Manny B.E. signs with the Phils…

I think it’s still premature to confuse Ant’s patience with indifference. I do not for a second believe he’s satisfied with the current state of the roster. He’s simply waiting for the market to come back to reasonable.

Whether we want to admit it or not, the deals given out thus far by teams like Philly, whose owner said this to USA Today Sports heading into the offseason: “We’re going into this expecting to spend money and maybe even be a little bit stupid about it,” have mostly exceeded the predictions by most prognosticators. Simply put, there have been a lot of overpays. From Cutch to Nate Eovaldi to Charlie Morton to Kelvin Herrera, the deals have exceeded both annual average value and years guaranteed that most reasonable analysts expected them to receive.

It truly is “stupid” money. AntMan is not going to spend stupid money (nor stupid prospect capital). He’s going to be smart and responsible. Maybe I’m in the monitory, but I prefer it that way. I prefer to look ahead and tell my assets where to go, not look back and wonder where my assets went.

Again, I pose the query: Would we be so critical if he signed JD and Mac this past week instead of early in the offseason? The result is the same even if the optics are not.

There will be a trade made before the season begins. And it could be significant. You cannot hold on to these prized trade chips, the long noted prospect capital, past their point of usefulness. They do have a shelf life, and the time to cash them in is now. Thoppy knows this better than anyone.

I go back to what he said to young Gabe Burns back during the GM Meetings: “The reason we have all these prospects is to win. And sometimes when winning is right in front of you, it’s easy to lose sight of that. We talk about sustained winning, sustained success. Sometimes you need to have success first. We focus so much on the sustainable side that we never get to the success. I do think, my opinion, you have to get to the success part first.”

The Braves will not have success without an additional bona fide starting OF’er. It doesn’t have to be Bryce Harper, but it definitely cannot be Adam Duvall. Ant may not acquire a sexy “ace” type pitcher, and he may not bring in a classic closer, but he will bring in an OF’er. I’m absolutely sure of it. And I do not believe that we will begin the 2019 campaign with the entire contingent of high level pitching prospects we currently hold. AAA Gwinnett cannot deploy an 8 man rotation. Whether it’s for an OF’er or another big name connected to the team, something will happen.

And if I’m wrong, I’ll admit it and serve up the biggest pot of crow you can imagine. But I don’t expect to be looking up any recipes…

And of course, as we are here discussing AntMan and his strategies and intentions, he’s being interviewed on the Braves flagship radio station. And we are fortunate to have it embedded in this tweet. I’m posting it before listening, so I don’t know if there is anything substantive here, or if it’s alot of fluff. But I’ll know shortly. 🙂

So as expected, there’s not alot that he can actually say due to tampering rules, which the moderator very clearly lays out before asking direct questions. Still, some good questions were asked, and some good answers were given to the extent they could be answered.

Two things I took away…

First, he spoke of Nick Markakis in a context that made it sound like an offer had been made. Did I misread that?

Second, AA very clearly laid out the hierarchy for making deals. It doesn’t go back to Denver, rather it stops on Terry McGuirk’s desk. Naturally, McGuirk personally has to answer to Denver, so there is that. But AntMan has the latitude to put together a creative deal and get the okey-dokey here locally… not up the chain and across the country. Does that change what he can do? Maybe not, but at least TMc is a guy that is around baseball constantly as part of his executive duties. He’s not an empty suit in a board room gazing at spreadsheets.

I agree that we have enough arms to flesh out an effective bullpen. Obviously I’d like to add an experienced late inning arm, but it’s low on my “To Do” list after OF’er and starting pitcher. Maybe even after add’l bench candidate.

I do think the Braves will spend at least some moola…I guess I fear more overpaying for J.T. (and I know they don’t want to) and having to face a guy or two that kill us each time…
we definitely need at least 1 more bat, bare minimum. Of course, if Dansby finally has a good all around offensive season that will help tremendously. there is always room for improvement.

Speaking of JTR, I still have a weird feeling when I think about the trade talks. It’s not a creepy feeling, but more of a feeling of anticipation. There is nothing of any substance to base any expectation on. There are no leaks and there are no hints. Nuthin’.

But when you look at the offseason activities…

Miami must trade JTR before the season starts. If Jeter wants a better return than what he got for Christian Yelich, then he must trade JTR at his peak value, which is before the season begins and truly before Spring Training begins. And as many teams have been mentioned in connection with Miami, some have moved on, some have kicked the tires, some have been merely lukewarm in their interest. Only one team has consistently stayed on the beam. That’d be the Braves.

IMO, the only thing holding up a deal is the still unrealistic demands from the other side. Once they eventually back off Ozzie Albies, which they will have to do at some point, the talks can get serious.

They say they want a ML ready player back. If they can’t have Ozzie, they’ll want Austin Riley. He is about as close to ready as he’ll get. They’ll want one of our prized pitchers and have previously asked for Mike Soroka. That wont happen. They’ll ask for Ian Anderson. That shouldn’t happen. They’ll pivot to Kyle Wright. That will hurt, but could happen. They’ll need a replacement catcher, so they’ll get Flow. And they may want one more prospect to sweeten the deal, so we can toss in Alex Jackson.

So Riley, Wright, Flow and Ajax. It’s a big price, but I think it’s about right for the best catcher in the game and a guy you’d want to guide a young pitching staff and hit behind Freddie for at least 2 more years.

So you add JTR, who will make about $6M this season. You can then re-sign Markakis at about $8M per season for 2 years and you’re still under budget.

Then you trade for Sonny Gray who is projected to earn about $9M in his final year of arb, giving up 1 high level prospect (Kolby Allard maybe?), and trade away Julio Teheran and his remaining $11M commitment for a pair of lower level prospects (to pitching starved HOU maybe?) to help flesh out that depleted part of the prospect pipeline. You gain about $2M in payroll space, help balance a top heavy farm system, and give 2 change-of-scenery candidates some greener pasture for 2019.

You’ve addressed all the stated top priority needs, stayed under budget, maintained a good youth/veteran mix, aided the long term farm system health, and put a pretty darn good 2019 roster together.

And you keep payroll flexibility to be able to add help at the trade deadline.

I think Viz and Sam Freeman are non-tender candidates. I believe Duvall could be as well, especially if the Braves had their starting OF in the fold already. Right now he’s just major disaster insurance.

I’d like to see the team come to agreement on all these other guys and avoid the whole ugly arb process altogether. And I’d like to see Folty given a long term deal and entrenched as a top-of-the-rotation Braves pitcher for the next 4-5 years. Let’s take Viz’s $4.8M + Sam’s $1.5M + Folty’s own $5.5M and cover Folty’s shiney new $12M per year deal.

Imagine that Washington, after all the splashy moves it has already made, brings back Bryce Harper as well.

And then imagine Philly, after making a few splashy moves itself, reacts by spending their “stupid money” on Manny.

I’m not one to advocate “reacting” to what other teams do, but you do have to at least try to keep up. We may have to bite a hard bullet and make our own splash in the trade market to stay in the NL East title conversation.

V, Viz was throwing 99 in the playoffs, so I assume his shoulder is fine. Didn’t Mike Soroka have repeated shoulder issues, to the point they shut him down for the year? I know he’s a kid, but still…shoulder issues at 20-21.
If the braves DFA him for 4.8 mil then they just aren’t all that serious about winning this year…hope to do the ol’ braves thing of being just good enough to get wiped out in the first round, if they get to it…
I remember all the other guys sucking (save Minter) when they tried to close out games. it was painful to watch.
is he a perfect closer? no…he will make you sweat, but then strike out the side, like he did against the Dodgers in the playoffs. He’s not exactly old, just turned 28.

Bridges and Roy Clark were dismissed today after signing their respective one-year deals in October. Anthopoulos considers Bridges to be one of the best scouts/evaluators he's known. He just recently decided he wants somebody else handling the role's administrative duties. https://t.co/uuYY9gollR

Bridges and Roy Clark were dismissed today after signing their respective one-year deals in October. Anthopoulos considers Bridges to be one of the best scouts/evaluators he's known. He just recently decided he wants somebody else handling the role's administrative duties. https://t.co/uuYY9gollR

Interpretation is that it takes more than being a good scout/evaluator to run the department. Had Bridges been a crosschecker, he'd still be with the Braves. The choice to remove him from the director position directly affected Clark because they've long served as a duo. https://t.co/m3abNJ8kWj

#Tigers trade talks with #Braves on Nick Castellanos have not progressed since dialogue last month around the winter meetings, source says, although Atlanta remains active in corner OF market. @MLB@MLBNetwork

Leaks out of LA say that the Kitties were asking the Dodgers for #1 OF prospect Alex Verdugo for 1 year of the defensively challenged Castellanos. If that’s their asking price, I could understand if AntMan deleted (Tigers GM) Al Avila’s phone number from his contacts at the Winter Meetings.

Reports from many of the national writers late yesterday say that there is some movement in both the Manny and Bryce camps, and that each are seeking deals that top Giancarlo Stanton’s current record holding pact.

I read in someone’s, disputed by another’s, that the Yankees are now out on Manny, and that his market is basically down to 2 teams – ChiSox and Phillies. Similarly, it appears the Phillies are also 1 of 2 teams remaining on Bryce, being said Phils and the Nats.

I’d love nothing better than to see Philly whiff on both, but have a bad feeling they’ll get one if it kills them. After all, their owner says they’re gonna spend “stupid money”, and they’re determined to make headlines.

I do wonder, though, now that the Dodgers are obviously out on bringing Grandal back if they could return to the Bryce derby. MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince is convinced that the Cards will be the derby winner on Bryce even though they haven’t been prominently mentioned for weeks. Then again, he’s also convinced that the Braves are going to acquire Madison Bumgarner. so his judgment has to be called into question to a certain degree.

At any rate, the market is beginning to churn a little bit again, even if it’s a little slow out of the gate.

V, if the braves don’t want to pay Viz 4.8 mil, then I’d say they aren’t really serious about winning this year. Oh sure, they will….compete, but if they get to the playoffs, 1st round and out…I remember what it was like when he was out…all these guys pretty much sucked (save Minter, and that only after he got more comfortable in the Role) Yeah, Viz will make you sweat, but like he did against the Dodgers, he can then strike out the side. Don’t think anyone else on the staff can do that. He just turned 28, so he’s not exactly old
Didn’t Soroka have shoulder issues that came up twice, then shut down for the year because of his age? ( he only pitched 60-65 innings for all of 2018) That worries me more than Viz’s arm. He was hitting 99 in the playoffs…

Hmmm… and right after Brian Bridges and Roy Clark are fired, uh… I mean “released” from their contracts.

It’s not hard to read between the lines here. The official reason for Bridges’ firing was that while he is a respected scout and talent evaluator, he was not proficient in the administration duties that come from the Director of Scouting position. It would appear that it was at least an administrative snafu that led to the dispute, grievance and eventual settlement… which I am sure cost the Braves a chunk of money in the end. It may have even cost them more than the original bonus slot amount would have. It obviously cost two men their jobs.

One might even reach to speculate that the reason the two men’s jobs were connected was due to some misleading or unethical actions on their part. But that’s just speculation on my part.

“Bridges and Clark had continued in their regular duties since October, including accompanying Anthopoulos and his other directors and top assistants to the Winter Meetings last month in Las Vegas. Bridges and Clark are the latest Braves long-timers to be let go this offseason, after two minor league managers and a venerable former manager were dropped.

Dismissed were Rocket Wheeler, who managed high Single-A Rome last season in his 26th year as a minor league manager and 16th in the Braves’ organization; Luis Salazar, who managed the high Single-A Florida team in his eighth season as a Braves minor league manager; and on-field adviser Randy Ingle, who spent 41 seasons with the Braves, including 26 as a minor league manager before moving to the minor league advisory role he held in 2018.” DOB- Athletic

I hate to say it, but I like the moves the Nats have made…in fact, I could see them having a decent chance of winning the division even without Harper…. Dozier’s average stunk last year, but 21 72 is not a bad off year for a 2nd baseman. and he bounces back to 34 HR’s like he had in 2017….

They’ll have a good team no doubt if they are healthy and Juan Soto repeats his 2018 performance. But as tasty as an OF of Soto, Adam Eaton and Victor Robles looks on paper, there are at least a few questions. Will Soto avoid the proverbial sophomore slump? Are Eaton’s legs healthy? Can they remain so for 162 games? Is Robles as advertised? If the answer to all of those questions is “yes”, then they are solid.

Still, the Nats have a way of overcoming their own good fortune somehow. Bad mojo? Abraham Lincoln’s ghost? Proximity to Nancy Pelosi’s DC office? Who knows…

All I know is that the Braves are still 1 more good bat away from being ready to compete.

Guys, the same could be said of Acuna as far as the sophomore slump argument goes. Robles? I’d take him…

As for the Braves repeating, they won’t be sneaking up on anyone this year. Like Ender and his base stealing… So, it’s going to be a bit tougher sledding in 2019. New season, new schedule, new team mates, new chemistry. You just never know how things will shake out.

Just 3 disabling injuries in 8 ML seasons. Between the time he became a full season regular in 2013, he played in game totals of 158, 158, 158, and 155 before his first DL stint for a left calf strain limited him to just 113 games in 2017. Last year he hit the DL twice – early in the year with shoulder inflammation, then with the right calf injury – limiting him to just 52 games, 36 in TOR before being traded and coming back healthy with Cleveland in September. And in the season’s final 16 games he slashed .280/.400/.520 w/ 3 HRs and 3 doubles showing no lingering effects in the calf.

He’s in his 3rd year of arb, and thus must come to agreement on at least a 1 year deal with MIA before 1:00 pm ET tomorrow or the two sides must submit their respective amounts for arbitration. If they do in fact exchange figures, any team that acquires him in trade must abide by those submitted terms. Of course, the two sides can come to agreement at any point prior to the actual hearing, but the Braves in particular are known as a “file and trial” team, meaning once figures are exchanged, the negotiations cease and they go by the arbiter’s decision.

I wonder if they might make an exception if they acquired a guy after figures were already exchanged?

And I wonder how you approach that process with JTR knowing you’re trying to trade him and his salary anyway? Weird…

ATL continues to be in discussions on OF A.J. Pollock, among other FA OF. If they got him, their lineup could look something like this, depending on where Acuna bats:LF Acuna3B Donaldson1B FreemanRF Pollock2B AlbiesCF InciarteC Flowers/McCannSS Swanson

OK, since Buster has brought this up, let’s examine Pollock for a minute.

First, MLBTR ranked him as their #8 FA heading into the offseason, and predicted he’d sign for about 4 years, $60M.

Now… he is someone that I might characterize as “frequently injured”. 2015 was the only year in which he played 113 games in the past 5 seasons. His injuries have included a broken hand, an elbow fracture, a groin strain, and last year’s thumb fracture.

I suspect given the nature of those injuries that he’s a guy that goes full throttle on every ball hit to the OF, which is why he’s such a highly rated OF. IF he were placed in LF or RF, would he continue to play with wild abandon?

Probably. Guys who are gamers like that just go all gas no brakes. It’s just how they’re wired.

The positives: the Braves keep Austin Riley and all the other nice prospects and still add an impact bat to the lineup. They have an elite defensive OF… maybe the best in baseball. There is still money left over to look at enhancing the team’s pitching depth.

The negatives: Can he stay healthy? Will cost a draft pick as he received a QO from ARI. Uh… that’s about it.

So in essence you are banking your remaining big splash on an injury risk.

That’s a tough one for me. I know we need to add an OF. Unless we can swing a trade for a younger controllable guy, we have to lay money out there. Nick will cost $8M-$9M per season himself. And I look back at Buster’s lineup… and it looks pretty darn good. Glad I don’t have to make the call.

Maybe nothing but rumor, but I think I’ll keep my ear to the ground on this anyway.

One more thought on the Pollock think. I wonder if getting a resolution on the Carter Stewart grievance plays into the timing here. Now that they know they are keeping the #9 pick (Stewart compensation) along with their regular pick at #21, perhaps they are more comfortable giving up their second rounder to sign Pollock?

Once again, Dodgers & Marlins virtually no deals for years. Not a coincidence. Stanton talks were unproductive at best. Marlins current ask is Bellinger or nothing. Great fit for J.T. there for sure BUT more than meets the eye there IMO.

So some quick albeit sketchy math – that includes estimates for the to-be-assigned pre-arb contracts – indicates the team’s current payroll sits around $115M. In that interview that is linked above, Thoppy specifically said they would exceed last year’s payroll in 2019. He said, “I do know we will be up… we’ll be up quite a bit. We’re not there yet. We have money that we can spend right now. We have quite a bit of money that we can spend right now. But we’re not finding the deal we like.”

Last year’s Opening Day payroll was about $121M.

I suppose the question then is how much is “quite a bit”? After all, he used that phrase twice, so it must have some tangible meaning, right?

1/Model teams are following now is can’t have enough good position players/versatility and ABs will be spread out. #Cubs had 10 players make 400-plus PAs last yr, #Dodgers 9, plus 296 from Machado, Stuff happens during that creates playing time. Remember #RedSox had Hanley

Hmmm, now they have even more guys to play one of 3 positions out there…
“Wil Myers was one of the Padres’ most popular options at third base last year, but it doesn’t appear he’ll factor in at the hot corner in 2019. On Saturday, Myers told reporters – including Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune and AJ Cassavell of MLB.com – that he’ll be a full-time outfielder next season.

Of course, Myers’ shift back to the outfield will have ripple effects on the rest of the Padres’ position player group. Not only will it add to an outfield logjam – one that also includes Franchy Cordero, Hunter Renfroe, Franmil Reyes, Manuel Margot and Travis Jankowski – but it’ll make it all the more important for San Diego to find a starting third baseman. The Padres have been prioritizing third this offseason, as Cassavell reported last month and as Acee further emphasizes.

I’m not a fan of Wil Myers himself. Wait. That sounded personal. What I mean is… uh, I hate to quote DOB directly, but he addressed it yesterday: He’s coming off injury-plagued and unimpressive season (.253/.318/.446 w/ 11 HR, 94 K in 322 AB/83 games) and is owed $74 million over next four years of a backloaded deal, including $22.5M each of 2020-2022 seasons.

Unless I’m getting money back and not giving up much in prospects, I’d rather aim higher for Hunter Renfroe. But he’s not a perfect fit either, as AA is looking for a LH bat to balance a RH heavy lineup, and Renfroe is RH. (As is Myers, for that matter.)

So who fits? Franchy Cordero is a LH, but his splits are bad enough that the Pads look at him as a more of a part time platoon candidate. Framnil Reyes is RH. Manuel Margot? RH. Then there’s Travis Jankowski. He is LH, but has little power and projects more as a 4th OF.

In other words, the Fathers are not quite the perfect match that some see.

The “big” news over the weekend centers around the 2 FA linchpins Manny and Bryce. The Yankees signed DJ LeMahieu for 2B, essentially ending their erratic pursuit of Manny, thus leaving his market down to CHW, PHI and the vaunted “mystery team”. Speaking of Philly, they met with Bryce over the weekend and exited the confab as the reported new leader for his services. They are determined to sign one of the two big dogs, and Bryce is the better fit for them. I expect that to happen fairly soon. Back to Manny… the ChiSox made a formal offer yesterday for 8 years at an undisclosed $$ amount. I so want that to happen… but I also want Bryce to go to their north side rivals, putting both stars in the same city. I think that would be amazing for baseball, but it won’t happen. As much as Theo and company want Bryce in Wrigley (can you even imagine that?), ownership has put the clampdown on their spending.

And as soon as Manny and Bryce make their choices, the dam should break and the others should begin to find new employers.

As for the Braves, they continue to be linked to AJ Pollock, but not at 4 years. Reportedly, if he’ll come back to 2 years (and preferably a 1-year “pillow” contract like JD), the Braves would make it happen. DOB pointed out the difference between the 2 players, though. JD has something to prove and has a fully healed calf muscle. Pollock has less certainty and would prefer a longer guarantee.

Also, it should be noted AJ Pollock is a RH batter. Contradiction of stated needs? Hard to say.

We should also remember that AA told the radio guys last week that if you hear a name directly connected to the Braves, you can probably discount him as a possibility as AA and his posse are working more behind the scenes. Perhaps that statement was intended to throw us all off the scent. Maybe not. At any rate, I won’t start frothing at the mouth because Jon Heyman or Buster Olney connect a name to the Braves. And especially Ken Rosenclick. They really just want us to click a link to their story, accurate or not. America 2019.

And the last item on my menu for the Braves this morning is JTR. I am about sick of talking about him. The Marlins’ asking price remains stupid high, causing the Padres to drop out of the race citing the unrealistic demands.

I’m ready for all teams to say BYE and leave Jeter stuck with an expiring asset. Maybe he’ll learn something. I don’t mind any exec assigning a value to his own player and not taking less than he thinks he’s worth. But there is point that exits high regard and enters mania. Jeter has crossed the line.

The remaining teams of supposed interest should be the Braves, Rays and Astros (I don’t really believe the Reds to be a serious “front runner”), all of whom can simply wait out the delusional Marlins. The Braves can at least begin the season well with McFlow, while the Rays have Mike Zunino, whom they acquired from the Mariners earlier in the offseason, as the starter with youngster Michael Perez as his backup, and the ‘Stros have Robinson Chirinos and Max Stassi. So it’s not like any of the remaining 3 “front runners” are desperate to fill a catching void. Rather, each of these teams would love to make a major upgrade. I doubt any of them, the Braves included, will blink. It behooves each to simply wait… much like they have been doing.

And the last item on my menu for the Braves this morning is JTR. I am about sick of talking about him. The Marlins’ asking price remains stupid high, causing the Padres to drop out of the race citing the unrealistic demands.
V, I too am quite tired of the JTR talk….been tired of it from almost the beginning. If he was in another division, I could see trading away the next Wainwright (and someone else that might end up almost as good) but to see say 2 starters as thorns in the braves side for 5 years, for a guy that could be gone in 2 years. Bleh.

with all that said, very weak , very weak defense of the Marlins, I kept hearing the Padres now have the best Minor league prospects, but won’t trade any of the top 5 guys…well…ok, you can certainly do that, but how do you expect to get JTR or Kubler for numbers 6, and 7? No team is going to do that…what’s happening now is what has happened in the past, only seems to be an ever bigger problem. Teams value prospects too much.
Worried about years of controllable-ness (new word) and cheapness, over, you know…winning. Pirates are a great example of that…fans stayed away in droves last year, even when they were good for the first 2-3 months.
Do I have a point??? I doubt it…the first part perhaps…did I mention I was sick?

Very true that the new trend is to go younger. It’s a by-product of the new analytics driven game. All the hard numbers indicate that a player is in his prime from age 26-31, so players 32 and above are no longer valued the way they once were. The ripple effect is that teams do not want to give long term deals that extend very far past a player’s age 31, and are more willing to give younger prospects a chance to establish themselves. I have not tried to go back and look at average team ages, but I’d venture a guess that that number is going down. It is a fact that the average player salary went down in 2018 for the first time in ML history because of the trend to play younger players still in teams’ “controllable” years, while refusing to give out big guarantees to the old guys. (You can bet that the MLPBA will address that in the next negotiations, but I digress.) It doesn’t help any when you look at guys like Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera and Jacoby Ellsbury… all of whom are getting paid a veritable mint while playing sparingly. 38-year-old Pujols is due $87M for 3 more years, yet can’t field or hardly even run. 35-year-old Cabrera is still owed him $154M through 2023 and managed only 38 games last season. 35-year-old Ellsbury didn’t play at all in 2018 and is still owed $21M per season for both ’19 & ’20, plus a $21M team option for ’22 that carries a $5M buyout. And he’ll be a bench bat in the Bronx at best.

Is it any wonder that teams are skeptical to give out older players what used to be their “last big deal”?

Personally, as a capitalist at heart, I perfectly good with a player getting whatever an owner is willing to pay. But conversely, if said owner prefers to “pay as they go” on short term deals, I’m perfectly good with that as well.

“All the hard numbers indicate that a player is in his prime from age 26-31, so players 32 and above are no longer valued the way they once were.”

Yes, the collation between age and performance is returning to pre PED levels.

There will always be those rare freaks of nature who defy father time but for the most part, the window for a huge payday is getting smaller. That is why players like Bryce Harper will hold out for the highest bidder. Everyone involves knows that anything beyond age 34 is a crap shoot.

A load of people point to the Mike Stanton contract as the new benchmark but the majority of Stanton’s money is back loaded. Loria knew Stanton would not retire in a Marlin’s uniform.

So, that brings us to player’s like Nick Markakis who by all rights should expect a big increase in his salary based on his 2018 performance but it is not going to happen. Is it fair? Well, yes and no. It all comes down to timing.

My advice to Thoppy… Sign Acuna long term while he can because it is a much safer bet than thinking the Braves will keep him beyond age 26 if he continues on his present trajectory for a discount…

Nick Markakis who by all rights should expect a big increase in his salary based on his 2018 performance but it is not going to happen.

What will hurt, and is hurting Nick is that his production, while All-Star worthy early in the year, absolutely cratered in August and September. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that if it weren’t for that, he would probably have been re-upped here early in the offseason. Everyone loves him, and he fits the profile. But that finish… oy…

Here’s a perfect example of how a report/rumor/statement can be taken at face value without having the evidence to back it up:

Me.

I’ve heard for a few weeks that AA is looking for a LH power bat for RF to help balance a RH heavy lineup. Today I looked at the projected lineup. If you eliminate the vacant RF position, and call McFlowers a wash, the other 6 positions are taken by 3 RH (Acuña, JD, Dans), 2 LH (Ender, Freddie) and 1 SH (Ozzie… who admittedly is a better RH hitter). So while a LH hitter would be great, I don’t think it’s an overwhelming necessity. Makes me re-think alot of the statements I’ve made above here.

Perhaps a desire for a LH hitting RF would be greater if the RH hitting JTR were wearing a tomahawk? Perhaps.

Braves made a bevy of position and/or title changes in baseball operations, including asst. GM Perry Minasian adding VP of baseball operations to his title and Jonathan Schuerholz moving from asst. player development director to asst. director of pro scouting.

“Former New York Yankees legend Mel Stottlemyre — who starred on the mound for the Bronx Bombers before presiding over five World Series titles as a pitching coach for the Yankees and Mets — died Sunday in Seattle after a battle with bone marrow cancer. He was 77.”

Believe it or not, I saw Stottlemyre pitch as a kid for the Richmond Virginians in triple A… Man, that was a eon ago… May he rest in peace, bone cancer is an awful thing…

Gotta be careful who you read and what you believe. There was a report last night that was picked up by some national writers that said the Braves had extended an offer to Marwin González, with one even asserting that he had signed.

That was quickly quashed by Gabe Burns, who emphatically stated that “the Braves have NOT made any offer to Marwin Gonzalez.” He went even further to say, “They’ve continued monitoring OF options in trade/FA, but to my knowledge Gonzalez has not been among them.”

But who else do we have to talk about today? So here we go…

I have nothing against González, and I can certainly think of worse options. But we sort of have MarGo already in Johan Camargo, although Gonzalez has more experience in LF. Actually, he has alot more experience in LF given that Camargo has exactly 0 games outside the IF.

He had a career year in 2017 when he slashed .303/.377/.530 with 23 HR’s in just 134 games.

If you give any credence to the WAR stat – Wins Above Replacement – he was worth 2.5 wins last season. By comparison, Nick Markakis was a 2.6 WAR player last season. (Just for grins and giggles, Johan was a 3.7 WAR player last year.) And while I don’t think you can absolutely quantify a player’s worth in games per se, I do think it’s a fairly useful tool to compare against other players.

Would MarGo be a good signing for us? IMO, he would not be a bad signing. But is that how we want to characterize our acquisition… “It wasn’t bad”? It’s a little like those new commercials about the brake shop that’s “OK”, or the doctor that’s “OK”, or the tattoo artist that’s “OK”. I would like better than “OK”. Again, I can think of worse players, but if that is what we are left with, I’d just as soon give Johan a ton of time in LF during spring and just let him have it. Like I said, he is Marwin González, just better.

There is another report out now that says San Diego’s interest in Corey Kluber is to flip him for a 3B. In other words, they would like to work a 3-way deal in which they give up some position prospects from their #1 rated farm system to acquire Kluber from CLE, but engage another team with a solid 3B to fill that hole while also picking up some itching prospects for the perennial “ace” pitcher.

Could Atlanta lineup with SD and CLE in that scenario? Maybe. It would probably cost Austin Riley though. And not just Riley, of course. Probably Riley plus Kyle Wright plus some lesser prospects.

Per the report, the Pads have tried to engage the Reds in an effort to land their top 3B prospect Nick Senzel. CIN has said “no”.

IMO, the Braves should also reject such an overture. The only position on the field that is more difficult to develop than catcher is the classic power hitting 3B. That’s why the only player for whom I would consider giving up Riley would be a top catcher (no names mentioned).

I see TOMAHAWK TAKE is beating the drum for A.J. POLLACK. They must be in full blown panic-mode over there, sweating while waiting for AA to bust a move. I’ve said here for several months now that POLLACK was my pick on an incentive-laden make-good one or two year deal.

I am of the opine that lots of folks (Braves fans) are just getting nervous that someone has not been signed to play in the Atlanta outfield. Pretty sure Thoppy will make a deal at some point, he just has not let the whole world know who it will be. I am still advocating for Mike Stanton but what do I know?

While I don’t think losing 3rd pick will prevent #Braves from signing Pollock, there is reluctance as @Ken_Rosenthal noted. My opinion: Makes more sense for Braves to dip into prospect capital and try to trade w/ #Padres for slugger Renfroe (Mississippian) & reliever like Yates

Fun trivia, and probably more than anyone wants to know… so you may tune out now if you wish…

Prince was on the bad end of a recording deal that plagues a vast majority of young artists who cannot afford a lawyer to pour over the intentional mound of paperwork filled with small print caveats. His record company, Warner Bros., not only made money off the star’s product, but they by contract could dictate how and when he recorded to a degree that Prince felt was stifling to his creativity. After rising to superstar status, Prince sought to renegotiate the deal, not in an attempt to gain a higher percentage of the profits, but to be able to put out more records than Warner Bros. was allowing. Warner Bros. said “NO”, holding Prince to the original terms of their pact and asserting creative control over his work.

This time, though, Prince could afford a lawyer, and his own creativity combined with some hired legal savvy came up with the scheme to legally change his name to a symbol which could be neither pronounced nor copyrighted, allowing “the artist formerly known as Prince” to produce material under his own means outside his contract with Warner Bros. without any outside interference or limit. And he churned out a ton of material as well as writing and producing hits for numerous other artists… none of it for Warner Bros.

And when his original contract with Warner Bros. was up in 2000, he legally changed his name back to Prince.

RH HUASCAR YNOA [20] (24) – I like this kid. I think he’s got a real future with the club. Would not surprise me to see him take a big step forward this season. He’s got a full year, probably two before he comes calling in ATLANTA.

RH JASSEEL de la CRUZ [21] (21) – I think his development is behind YNOA, and I can’t rank him above YNOA going forward. That didn’t stop TC from doing just that however. I get no respect. He got hurt at the end of last April, and when he came back in June it showed. He seemed to right his ship somewhat late in the season so there’s hope for the future, but I would be a bit more circumspect as to his future in MLB than the TC crew.

Relief Pitching:

RH CHAD SOBOTKA [25] (22) – I’ve already placed him on ATLANTA’s roster. ST will tell if I am right. He’s been listed as a fairly low prospect by TC. I think they are wrong. I honestly believe he makes the 25-man right away. Blew through three levels in the minors, and carried a 0.98 WHIP in 14.1 IP in ATLANTA in 2018.

LH CORBIN CLOSE [23] (23) – if he continues his development, I expect him to join the ‘pen sometime in 2019. He may play the up and down game for a bit, but it would not surprise me to see him as a LH replacement for one of the lefties in the bullpen by season’s end.

LH THOMAS BURROWS [24] – didn’t make the cut, but to my mind, he has the distinct possibility of being in ATLANTA before 2020. He excelled in AA with an 0.84 WHIP in 19 IP.

RH TREY RILEY 20 – out of nowhere as far as I am concerned. Rookie+ last season. Pretty rough numbers. Had a couple decent relief stints in 2018. First year of pro ball. I didn’t figure RILEY into anything in 2019. This one’s a real surprise to me. Of course, I hope Talking Chop is right on the money here, and i am out in left field. We’ll see.

Here's exact quote "There's one trade concept right now that 70% of the deal we would agree to, the 30% is probably where we are going back and forth. I don't know if we are going to get it done, but the main piece of the deal I think we ultimately would be ok, it's the add on"

“Add on”….. Current major league player or low level prospect with a high ceiling… Could go ether way…

I remember once during negotiation in buying a new car, got all the way down to whether or not the deal included the factory floor mats. Salesman: Are you going to let a set of floor mats keep you from buying this car? Me: Are you going to let a set of floor mats keep you from selling this car? All about perspective I guess.

It has been suggested that the Braves have an interest in Padres OF Hunter Renfroe, and that they also have an interest in reliever Kirby Yates as well. I wonder if that’s the type “add-on” of whom he could be speaking? That would be a nice deal to address a couple of areas of need…

One significant factor in the development of the offseason for the Braves, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link), is the team’s hesitation to part with a draft selection to sign a player who declined a qualifying offer. There were six such players, only two of whom have signed to this point. Several are at least hypothetical targets for Atlanta, with the team reportedly showing real interest in outfielder A.J. Pollock. Rosenthal writes that the Braves are worried about the draft compensation that would be required to land Pollock — in their case, a second-round pick that’ll end up being sixty-something overall. Specifically, he says, the Braves “value the selection more than most clubs” because of the amateur talent penalties the team was slapped with in late 2017. If that is indeed a position the team itself holds, it’s somewhat less than compelling. The Braves certainly aren’t alone in valuing draft selections. Like their competitors, they must consider the future talent pipeline. It’s especially tough to see the club as uniquely situated when it still possesses a bounty of young talent at the major and minor league levels.

Yes, that is correct. If they Braves were to sign a guy who declined a QO – such as AJ Pollock – they would lose their 2nd round pick… which is their 3rd overall since they own the #9 and #21 picks in the 1st round.

Now, let me just interject something here that is a bit of a bone of contention with me…

MLBTR cites Ken Rosenclick, who said in his column that the Braves “may be” hesitant to relinquish their 2nd round draft pick. His reasoning centers around the recent losses and penalties incurred by Coppygate. It isn’t flawed logic, But it is, my friends, just supposition. One might even call it “assumption”, and we were all taught as youngsters what happens when we “assume”, weren’t we? Ass-u-me, right?

Anyway, Rosenclick makes the headline to draw some eyes, and everyone across the blogosphere loses their minds. Over at Talking Chop, a web site that I generally like, they ran their own headline to point to Rosenclick’s article: Braves reluctant to part with draft pick in free agent signing, then summarized it in their piece with statements like “Atlanta has been reluctant to this point to sign a free agent that would require them to lose their third overall choice in the 2019 MLB Draft according to a report by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal”.

That is factually incorrect. Ken Rosenclick didn’t say that the Braves were reluctant to do anything. He didn’t even say they were hesitant. He said they may be hesitant. He ran a line of logic, and he drew a reasonable conclusion. He supposed. He presumed. That’s his job.

Now the interwebs are atwitter (see what I did there?) with the Braves’ hesitance to act in Free Agency..

Bah. Balderdash. Baloney.

Here’s what the Braves GM did say recently in a radio interview. He said, without mentioning specific FA names for obvious reasons, that if a deal makes sense for the team financially, he would not let the draft pick penalty be a deal breaker. That is straight from the horse’s mouth.

I believe that the draft pick compensation is a factor, and it should be. It’s a part of the cost. If my GM discounted it out of hand, I’d be disappointed. But if AA is taken at his word, the draft pick cost will not be an impediment to signing a Free Agent just because there is draft pick compensation attached.

Worth noting: 12 months ago on MLB Network, Josh Donaldson was No. 3 among 3B in the computer-generated rankings. He's still No. 9 this year after injury-marred season (Kris Bryan and Donaldson dropped from Nos. 2-3 to Nos. 8-9).

We still have to wait out the two biggest pieces to sign somewhere so the rest of the market can get price adjusted.

I guess I have to wonder at what point does ML Baseball begin to collapse upon itself as far as being able to sustain massive contracts? Yes, there are huge amounts of money being thrown around but the steel industry and the auto makers thought there would be no end to their profits too.

I guess I have to wonder at what point does ML Baseball begin to collapse upon itself as far as being able to sustain massive contracts?

Probably at the end of the 2021 season when the current collective bargaining agreement expires…

In all seriousness, as long as MLB continues to receive massive influxes of revenue from media mega-deals, players will continue to demand bigger and bigger portions of the pie. And who can blame them?

I have known Bob Nightengale and Buster Olney for many years and have always had a good professional relationship with both. But their recent reporting, like many other rumors in the past several months, have been inaccurate and reckless when it comes to Manny Machado. I don’t know if their sources are blatantly violating the Collective Bargaining Agreement by intentionally misleading them to try and affect negotiations through the public or are just flat out lying to them for other reasons. But the truth is that their reports on the details of the White Sox level of interest in Manny are completely wrong.

I am well aware that the entire baseball universe; fans, players, teams, and media members alike; are starved for information about this free agent market for all players, including Manny. But I am not going to continue to watch the press be manipulated into tampering with, not just with my client, but all of these players’ livelihoods as they have been doing this entire offseason. The absence of new information to report is no excuse to fabricate “news” or regurgitate falsehoods without even attempting to confirm their validity and it is a disservice to baseball fans everywhere when the media does just that.

Moving forward, I will continue to respect the CBA’s prohibition on negotiations through the media, and hope that others would do the same.

Yowser. Lozano is not a fan of suppositions either, especially the way they are currently portrayed in media “reporting”. I believe our President has a name for it… Fake News.

Yes, it will eventually result in baseball loss of protection from anti-trust… Persoanally, I would like the wealth to be spread around a little but more to the minors but since I don’t own a team, it is easy for me to say…

Teams better start investing more in their minor league players. Case in point: Kyler Murray, whom the A’s are about to lose to the allure of instant wealth from the NFL. And who can blame Murray? Why would he eschew making millions right away from being a 1st round NFL pick for toiling away in the minor leagues for peanuts in hopes of making the ML minimum in 3 or 4 years? Even the great Chipper Jones took 4 years to make The Show.

Yes, in the long run, baseball could likely be the wiser choice. But how do you tell that to a 21 year old kid who sees instant fame and fortune just 3 months away?

Baseball might want to invest some $$ into keeping the best athletes in their sport…

The old joke related to umpires, who fictitiously said, “I call ’em as I see ’em. And if I don’t see ’em, I make ’em up.”

That joke has sadly shifted to the media, but the only thing fictitious about it is the quality of many of their reports. Making headlines and generating clicks is the only real goal in modern media. Facts are no longer important. And the media personalities hide behind the protection of “sources”, who are and should be protected. That is, of course, if they actually exist. With no mechanism to fact-check “sources”, it comes down to simple trust. And that trust is what is eroding away in modern media. Unfortunately, alot of good and decent journalists are losing credibility alongside the shadier ones. It’s why I no longer watch any news, CNN or Fox. I don’t trust any of them anymore.

I am as guilty as anyone of seeing something that appeals to me personally and reposting it here. I try not to load us up with garbage, but I’m sure I do my share. I should do a better job of making sure I post the ponderings of others as just that… someone’s musings.

Patrick Weigel is a name we’ve kind of glossed over in favor of some of the more notable ones, but perhaps we shouldn’t. If you’ll recall, he was probably 2 or 3 minor league starts away from making his ML debut in 2017 when he suffered the elbow injury that required TJ surgery and all that follows. Anyway, he is healthy and ready to compete in 2019 and to earn his spot back on the organization’s radar. Here is a fantastic interview with the young man whom I am rooting for both professionally and personally:

We still have to wait out the two biggest pieces to sign somewhere so the rest of the market can get price adjusted.

The Phillies need to go ahead and make their “stupid money” offer to Bryce and get this thing rolling. It’s going to happen, and they’ve pretty much neutered their own leverage by continuing to spout off in the media about their “visions”. So they might as well cave and get it over with, then Manny can get his deal from the leftovers and AA can finalize his big trade.

One guy hit .297/.366/.440, with 14 HR, 43 2B in 2018; the other hit .281/.313/.419, with 15 HR, 35 2B.

One is 35 years old; the other is just 33.

One is projected to sign for 2 years at about $8M per season; the other is expected to require the same annual amount but for just 1 year.

One guy started off hot in 2018 and cratered late; the other actually had a better second half than the first.

One is a former Oriole; the other is a former Oriole. 🙂

It just strikes me that the Braves are keeping in touch with Nick Markakis as a fallback option if he’ll sign for 1 year, or so it’s rumored. Why would they not also be in touch with Adam Jones, who is younger and has more power potential? If the main concern with Nick is how he tailed off in August and September, wouldn’t logic dictate that Jones’ strong second half should at least spark some mild interest?

Let me be clear… I prefer a trade for a younger, more potent bat. But if it comes back to “settling” on an affordable FA, I wouldn’t mind taking a flyer on the former 5-time All-Star.

Well, the OF market appears to be clogged, but the reliever market is gangbusters… well, gangbusters in the Bronx anyway. The Yankees have just signed Adam Ottavino to go along with the previously signed Zach Britton to add to incumbents Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman. That will be a shutdown bullpen.

BTW- the terms of the deal are 3 years / $27M. That should end all speculation of them still being in on Manny.

A couple of things to keep in mind about Adam Jones, one, he was playing hurt for most of the season and two, he was batting in a very weak line up. I don’t think Jones can really be called upon to play centerfield as he once did but still could handle either corner without much trouble.

As far as Nick’s drop-off in production last season, it is why I think it is detrimental to play in the All-star game. Instead of getting break in their routine and allowed to recharge mentally as well as physically, they are run down the cattle shoot. I just don’t see an up side to it. Want an All-star game? Play it after the World Series…

I don’t think Jones can really be called upon to play centerfield as he once did but still could handle either corner without much trouble.

He’d make a heckuva LF’er, especially in an OF that features Ender and RAJ. Can his bat bounce back? Maybe… and it would be good reason for him to come in on a 1 year deal ala JD to prove he’s healthy and worth alot more in 2020.

Hard not to root for this guy even if he does play for a rival. Of course, now that he has transferred to Oklahoma, the rivalry factor isn’t there. I hope he has a spectacular 2019 season unless OU plays UGA in a bowl or playoff game. 😀

A trade scenerio that sent a package of JULIO and SHANE CARLE away for anybody would suit me

I still believe Julio will be traded before Opening Day. I also believe there will be a significant trade for an OF’er and an acquisition of a better than average starting pitcher. Nothing tangible to base that on… just my gut. Logic and reason just tells me that AA cannot and will not go into 2019 with needs not addressed when there is a glut of pitching prospects at the top level that are at the peak of their prospect value. It simply does not make good baseball sense.

As for Shane Carle, if he makes the bullpen coming out of spring, then more power to him. But the competition will be fierce, and and he does have a couple of minor league options remaining, so there’s that. He was very good at times in 2018, but he also faded down the stretch.

Cody Allen contract with #Angels, once completed, will be one year, $8.5M, sources tell The Athletic. Deal includes $2.5M in incentives for games finished, potentially maxing out at $11M. No club option. Pending physical.

Somewhere in a string of Tweets, Rosey said, “Allen was looking for team that would give him opportunity to close.” That may not have been such a clear path here, where I think the new analytic approach to the bullpen suggests matchups over innings. In other words, the “closer” may not always pitch the 9th inning if the meat of the opponents’ order is up in the 7th or 8th. I think the new approach says you have at least 3 solid relievers that can get you through the late innings when necessary.

I’ll never forget watching Craig Kimbrel staring out of the bullpen while the Dodgers were scoring the winning runs because Fredi was saving him for the 9th inning that never came. You have to pitch your best against their best. Period.

And for the Braves, Viz and AJ Minter make up 2 of the 3. Who is the 3rd? Dan Winkler? Maybe. He was very good at times, especially in the first half of the season. Darren O’Day? Distinct possibility. What about Chad Sobotka? I think he has the stuff. None are proven though and come with questions.

And of course, that also doesn’t take into account the possibility adding to the candidates a young starter like Luiz Gohara or Patrick Weigel, both of whom have the “stuff” to be dominant in relief roles.

I keep seeing our bullpen characterized as being a weakness, but I swear I see alot of potential already here. But there’s that word again – potential.

It just underscores how impressive the Yankees’ new bullpen will be: Aroldis Chapman, Zach Britton, Dellin Betances, Adam Ottavino, Chad Green, Jonathan Holder, Tommy Kahnle… and whomever else if they feel the need for an 8th reliever. But will they need one? Their rotation is equally impressive with Luis Severino, James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka, JA Happ, and CC Sabathia. That whole pitching staff is impressive top to bottom.

Who is that? Beats me. But according to MLBTR, The 28-year-old hasn’t cracked a big league roster since 2016 and has only 11 MLB frames under his belt in all. However, Aro does have a career 3.14 ERA with 8.3 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and 0.6 HR/9 in 174 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level. He’s spent the past two seasons with the Triple-A affiliates for the Mariners (2017) and the Padres (2018).

His profiles says he’s mostly a 2 pitch fastball/slider reliever, primarily relying on a 4-seamer that hits 94mph while mixing in a slider at 84mph. He will occasionally add in a rare changeup that floats in at 84mph and an even rarer sinker that hits 93mph. He is considered a flyball pitcher.

Nothing to get excited about. Purely a no-risk addition to fill out the minor league bullpen.

I’ve seen the 2019 Braves uniforms and can’t wait to host the Uniform Showcase tomorrow at Chop Fest. I’ll be joined by Braves Creative Director, Insung Kim at Sport and Social and we’ll take you through all of the new details. Doors open at 11:00.

Swanson began hitting off a tee this week. He’s experienced enough over the past few years to know he doesn’t need to be at full strength or give max effort during the first half of March. https://t.co/3lys5uIkeJ

Sonny Gray goes to the Reds, who immediately extend him. That was a part of the who.e trade process. They Yankees gave the Reds a 72 hour window to negotiate with Gray’s agent as a part of the trade talks.

Oh, and a 3rd team jumped in to make it more interesting…

So the deal goes like this, courtesy of MLBTR::

Second base prospect Shed Long and a Competitive Balance Round A pick will go from the Reds to the Yankees in exchange for Gray and left-hander Reiver Sanmartin. New York, according to multiple reports, will flip Long directly to the Mariners in return for center field prospect Josh Stowers — the Mariners’ second-round pick in the 2018 draft.

As part of the trade, Gray has agreed to a new, three-year contract extension with the Reds that’ll span the 2020-22 seasons. He’ll earn $30.5MM over those three campaigns — that’s in addition to his $7.5MM salary for the 2019 season. The contract also reportedly comes with a $12MM club option for the 2023 season. There are $500K worth of incentives based on innings pitched in each new season of the deal, and his annual salaries can grow based on performance escalators.

Looks to be a good deal for all involved. And for everyone who wrote Gray off, watch out for a big bounceback from him. His numbers outside of Yankee Stadium, and in the NL particularly, were still very good.

They had what was by all accounts a very successful fan expo in their Chop Fest, even if it was a nasty rainy Saturday. Alot of players and staff were there talking to fans and the media, including our GM, whose interview is linked above. He continues to express an ability to trade and sign, just not a willingness to spend capital for the sake of spending capital.

Also from the weekend, the Braves have been connected LAD and their apparent willingness to deal Joc Pederson. This should be no surprise to anyone, even if they have already sent 2 OF’s to the resurgent Reds. The Dodgers are still loaded and have uber-prospect Alex Verdugo ready to make the scene. And I should think that AA will be connected to any potential deal with the Dodgers given his strong connections there.

As for Pederson specifically, I’d take him. He’s not a strong hitter vs. LH pitchers, but crushes righties. And as we all know, he can hit it a mile. I think he’d be a good pickup to pair with gulp Adam Duvall in a pseudo-platoon in the OF. As for defense, the Braves would essentially deploy 4 CF’s into the OF giving a huge security blanket to their young pitching.

And since Joc does have some holes in his game, the cost should not be prohibitive in prospect capital, leaving AA with the ability to continue looking for more pitching.

It appear the Reds are getting serious about being players in the Central.

Let’s see… they have added a strong starting pitcher and a strong starting OF. And they have been in on talks for a certain top veteran catcher. Hmmm… where have I heard that one before? (They also got rid of an OF who was speedy and a great defender, yet couldn’t hit. But I don’t want to get ahead of myself.)

Speaking of OF trades, over the weekend DOB hinted that David Peralta could still be on the radar even though ARI previously said he was not available. OB didn’t expound, just mentioning the name in passing. But I agree that it does make sense for the Snakes to trade him now while he’s still got 2 more years of club control… pretty much maxxing out his trade value. Since the Rattlers are in full rebuild mode, they won’t be in contention for the remainder of those 2 years anyway, so why not get what you can get now?

If Peralta is available in trade, he’s my top choice. He’s still in his prime years, although he’s already 31. Last year he slashed .293/.352/.516 with a sparkly 30 HRs and 87 RBI, earning a Silver Slugger award. he has experience in both corner OF spots and is considered an average defender. He also has plenty of AB’s in the cleanup spot. As LH hitter, he fits the mold of what AA is looking for even if his splits are a little skewed toward RH pitching. He wouldn’t be a strict platoon candidate, but could be a spot to insert Johan occasionally against pitchers that historically own him. (Heck, that’s what the new world of analytics is for, right?)

I can see ARI dangling Peralta to teams wiling to take on the bad contract of Zack Greinke. Maybe they’ll dangle him as a standalone piece, though, and get a couple of nice prospects from ATL.

And don’t forget, too, that Thoppy specifically said in his interview that one of the OF’s in whom they’ve been in trade discussions is someone who has not been named in the rumor mill. That doesn’t mean we might not have pegged and talked about him, but he hasn’t been linked to the Braves in the media.